Clarity
by LouLouRuby
Summary: What happens when this tough deployment ends and they all go their separate ways during leave? How will Dalton and Jaz come to term with their demons and their feelings? Predominantly a Jalton story.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone, I've been an avid fanfic reader for years, but have never been compelled to write my own until discovering this fabulous, life changing show. Now with it being cancelled, writing is the only thing that seemed to help with the heartbreak so many of us are feeling.**

 **I had an idea for a one shot, but this has somehow evolved into a very long, multi chapter story. I've written five chapters so far, but I'm no where near done. I hope you all enjoy, and I would love any feedback.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters - If I did, the show would never have been cancelled.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

The end of this current deployment was finally coming to an end. It had been a tough and brutal deployment and to say they all needed a break was an understatement.

Preach had finally woken from his coma, whilst his team and wife were all gathered at his bedside. The relief they all felt, particularly Dalton, was reflected in their weary faces. Most of them not having slept much at all since the whole fiasco with Hoffman.

Top had informed his team, as well as his team in DC, what had happened with Hoffman. Without having to say anything, he could tell that they all approved and agreed that there had been no other option other than to permanently silence Hoffman, despite the toll it may take on Dalton's soul. Dalton knew he would be questioned further on his arrival back in DC, and he would put some thought into what he had to report back before doing so, but for now, he needed to spend these last few days with his team.

Preach was cleared to travel stateside two weeks after waking, and the rest of the team spent the meantime clearing the Quonset hut. Whilst the base had sent in a team of cleaners, Dalton's team wanted to sort the last of things out for themselves. It was almost therapeutic for them, to be able to reset the hut as it had been before the explosion. To be able to sleep back in their own racks. For Amir to cook again in their own kitchen. For Jaz to be able to clean her guns in the cage. For McG to feel at home walking around topless. And for Dalton to finish up the last of his paper work and organise Patton's deployment home with him. It let them reclaim their identity and safety, prior to shipping out.

On their last night in the hut, their home away from home, Amir cooked a massive feast for them all to enjoy. Preach had managed to be discharged from the hospital for this very night, on the understanding that he will still have to undergo strict rehab on his return stateside. His wife chose to stay at the hotel and give the team this last night all together.

On their return to the states, they would all have to debrief in DC for a few days, but Preach had been excused in order to start his rehab as soon as possible, so they knew this was their last night all together for some time. They tried to get together a few times during their leave, but who knew how Preach would recover, so they were savouring this night.

Amir had produced a banquet, and as always, the team were delighted to discover he has cooked all of their favourites. They were all so happy to be back together and the conversation around the dinner table was jovial.

When dinner was cleared away, McG strode in and placed a bottle of tequila on the table with a flourish, "What say we go out with a bang?" he presented proudly.

"Don't you always?" Jaz questioned him wryly.

"Ha ha! This time I mean a different kind of a bang" McG joked while he wriggled his eyebrows at Jaz and she just chuckled at him.

Amir of course said he would stick to water and with the cocktail of drugs Preach was currently taking, he was out. But Dalton looked up and smiled and surprisingly said, "Why the fuck not?" which prompted McG to walk over and give his captain a high five.

"Yes, Top!"

They all took their drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, outside to where Dalton was starting a fire. They spent so many of their evenings out here, especially after missions. It was their favourite way to tune out and enjoy the fresh air and to be thankful once again that they had all come home safe.

McG poured a shot for Jaz, Dalton and himself. They all raised their glasses, Preach and Amir's filled with water, "To us."

Despite their faces being screwed up from the shock of the tequila, glasses were quickly refilled.

"To another deployment done and dusted… and to Preach. We're glad you are here with us, even if that means spreading more of that spiritual jujitsu around all over the place." McG joked. They all knew he was serious though, Preach was the heartbeat of their team and they didn't want to think about how close they had come to losing him.

They sat quietly for a moment thinking about this deployment.

"To Elijah." Jaz said eventually, and sadly. "He loved tequila, he would have had us on a drinking game by now," she continued with a reminiscent smile.

Dalton was sitting next to Jaz and turned his head to look at her. He wanted to reach out and put a hand on her shoulder for comfort, but something about that line that always seemed more prominent with her than anyone else, stopped him.

Instead he smiled at her and acknowledged, "That he would have, and we all know that McG would have spent the night puking. Again."

"Hey, hey… I had food poisoning that one time." McG tried to defend himself, despite the loud laughter from the others. He just waved his hand dismissively, he knew he would never live that one down.

Dalton turned serious once again and his eyes had a wistful look to them, "To Hossein. A great friend and comrade."

They all nodded their heads sombrely. The mention of Hossein reminded them all how close they had come to losing Jaz during that mission in Tehran. And if not for Hossein, they may well have all lost their lives.

Jaz feels some of the guilt creep in that she feels everyday about the loss of Hossein and looked down at the picnic table they were sitting around. She knew he was one of Dalton's greatest friends and she had been there when they had discussed one day getting around to that fishing trip in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She pushes her feelings down for now, this was not about her at the moment, it was about her team.

"… and to Jaz. For being one hell of a bad ass." Dalton had continued and Jaz knew he had added that in to ease the guilt _he_ knew she was feeling.

Jaz continued to look down at the table, but a smile crept on to her face. She couldn't look at Dalton right that moment, she knew if she did, the emotion in her eyes would send signals she knew she couldn't send.

"Hell yeah, Jazzy. Kicked those Quds to the curb!" As always, McG and his lovable nature had rescued the moment.

They all laughed at him and Dalton took that moment to look at Jaz again and was relieved to see her laughing along with everyone else. He knew she was still processing that mission, still had nightmares about it and still felt guilt. But to see her here, right beside him and laughing, made Hossein's death justified. He's not sure what he would have done if they couldn't have brought her home with them. That's something _he's_ still dealing with. He also pushed those feelings down for now, it wasn't the time.

"To the newest member of our team, who made us complete again." Preach offered as he looked at Amir.

Amir responded with a big grin and raised his glass of water, "To new friends. I've never worked as part of a team before, and I now know for sure, that I don't want to go back to being undercover alone."

"You can't. Who will feed us?" McG questions him.

"Typical, you're always thinking with your stomach. Or your dick." Jaz added with a tilt of her head.

"Ouch Jazzy, that hurts. Top, you know that's not true." McG tried to defend himself.

"One word McG… Seville." Dalton looked at him wryly, while everyone else cracked up.

McG even laughed along with that one, "Okay, okay, point taken." He conceded.

With that, they finally got around to drinking that second shot, knowing that it wouldn't be their last.

* * *

After more joking around with each other and a bit of reminiscing, McG and Amir left the table to play horse shoes. It was amazing how a few horse shoes and a pole could provide so much entertainment, but McG took it very seriously and Amir was taking advantage of his tequila pickled friend.

The other three remained at the table and Preach asked Jaz where she was spending her leave.

"New York to begin with. We'll see how long that lasts, then I might try and travel around a bit." Jaz said noncommittedly.

Knowing that she and her family weren't close and that New York didn't contain a lot of happy memories for her, Preach offered, "Well you know you're welcome to drop into SoCal anytime you want. My girls would love to see you again."

"Thanks Preach, I'll see where the wind takes me."

Preach looked at Dalton and asked him the same question.

"The Blue Ridge Mountains of course. You should know better Preach." Top chastised.

"Sorry, my bad, I forgot you become a full blown mountain man when left to your own devices." Preach chuckled.

They hadn't noticed Jaz look down again at the mention of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Once again it reminded her of Top and Hossein and their future plans. The plans that wouldn't ever come to fruition.

She jumped up suddenly, "Hey Amir, my turn to take on Mr Tequila" and with that she joined McG and Amir in their game.

She had to move away from Preach and Dalton's conversation before she drowned in it. All the talk of leave didn't excite her. She didn't really have anyone waiting to see her when she got home. Even in New York, she didn't really know why she was bothering to go back there, when there were no happy memories or missed family members to welcome her home. She would be alone, in a tiny apartment she found on Airbnb, and that thought doesn't excite her.

Preach watched Jaz as she departed the table, leaving just himself and Dalton sitting there. He saw that Jaz joined in the horse shoe game with extra enthusiasm, and knew that she was doing so to overcompensate for how she was feeling about their deployment ending.

He also noticed Dalton watching her as she went and saw his gaze remain on her for a few lingering seconds, before looking down at the table.

"Maybe Jaz might like the solitude of your cabin too…" Preach ventured.

"Preach" Dalton whispered, as he kept his head down and slowly shook his head.

"I'm just saying, you and Jaz are pretty similar. The lone wolf types. The strong silent types. The types that can't see what's right in front of them for the taking." Preach continued with.

"And the types that know there are rules to be followed and that we must abide by." Dalton challenged.

He wasn't upset with Preach, just stating facts.

"If I learnt anything from this deployment, Adam, it's that life is short. You never know what's around the corner. And in our line of work, we've seen firsthand what can be taken away in the blink of an eye. Hell, my career could be over if this rehab doesn't go well. All I'm saying is that if you feel something, isn't it worth finding out where that could go? If it could be more than just lingering looks and chats around the fire? A real connection is one of the greatest treasures life can give you. I just don't want you to look back and regret not finding out if this connection is something more." Preach kept his voice soft and steady and looked at the top of Dalton's head as he was still staring at the table.

Dalton slowly lifted his head and took a few deep breaths.

"I hear you Preach. I really do. And I'm not denying anything over here."

Dalton took another deep breath and continued. "I just don't want to fuck things up for Jaz. Her journey to this team has been harder than any of us will ever understand. And I don't want to be responsible for ruining that. It could be her career if it all went sideways."

"And that's half the problem right there. You're anticipating it going sideways, instead of wondering how many ways it could go forwards." Preach responded.

Dalton didn't know how to respond to that, and he usually had an answer to everything. He let his gaze wander over to Jaz again and smiled softly at how much she was enjoying herself with McG and Amir. He loved seeing her happy. She had been through a lot this deployment with the loss of Elijah and her capture in Tehran. And as much as he wouldn't admit it to Preach, a smile on Jaz Khan's face was worth every bad moment that had happened over this entire deployment.

As Preach observed Dalton watching Jaz, he had a similar soft smile on his face and continued on, "Top, I've known you for a decade, and I've never seen you look at someone the way you look at Jaz."

Dalton just looked at him with a frown.

"C'mon man, give me some credit, we spy on people for a living." Preach said. "And if you think I'm the only one that's noticed, you're crazy. And if you don't notice that Jaz looks at you the same way, I may as well botch the rehab and retire early."

Dalton laughed at that one and poured himself another tequila shot.

"As always, Preach, you are very perceptive and like I said, I hear you. I just need to do some thinking. There's more to consider than just my feelings. And if this conversation goes any further than this table, I will botch your rehab myself." Dalton threatened jokingly.

"Understood." Preach laughed

With that, Dalton raised his shot of tequila to Preach's glass of water and said "Here's to not having to listen to Preachism's for a few months."

They both burst out laughing at that, and then wandered over to join the others in their game.

* * *

 **What do you think so far? Please let me know.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the feedback and love, it is so greatly appreciated. I was so nervous about putting this out there, since it is my first fanfic ever. I forgot to say, I'm from Australia, so we spell some words with a 'u' in them… Like favourite, honour, colour etc. I know that gets confusing so just clearing that up.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of its characters… but I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

The day after their tequila fuelled night of festivities, for three of them anyway, all five members of Special Operations Group 7 left their home away from home once again. They knew they'd be back in a few months and they looked forward to that, but for now, they were looking forward to some rest and recuperation away from the base.

Well _most_ of them were anyway.

Preach and his wife were on a business class flight straight to California. The DIA had stepped up for Preach to make sure his long journey home was as comfortable as possible.

They all exchanged hugs with their favourite father-figure teammate. McG and Amir promising to drop in to see him during leave, Dalton being left with a wise stare, that only he understood, and Jaz with a hug that picked her right up off her feet.

Jaz giggled and reprimanded him, "Preach, put me down! You're just out of the hospital."

"Girl, you're as light as a feather, you best be doing some eating while on leave. And don't forget my offer to come visit. You're welcome anytime. Anytime." He repeated.

Jaz smiled and nodded at him. Preach reached a very special part of her that had never had a father figure to look up to, or one that she respected. Despite working alongside him day in and day out, laughing, joking, teasing him for his healthy smoothies, it was his wisdom and comfort that was one of the things she missed most while on leave.

They all waved Preach and his wife off as they departed the base in a Humvee, then went to collect their own bags for their own departure. They were on a standard military transport flight from Turkey to DC, all four of them, and Patton.

Amir sat on the flight smiling amusingly at the other three and their tequila hangovers. Jaz and Dalton were too proud to admit they were suffering and both sat there, looking stoic, despite their headaches. The early morning flight hadn't been ideal, but DC awaited and this was the only flight today.

McG was a different story. He didn't even bother to try and hide his hangover, sitting with his head in his hands, groaning at the movement of the plane.

"Maybe taking a shot of tequila after _every_ horseshoe that missed the pole wasn't the best idea?" Amir asked.

Jaz smirked at that, "Especially with your aim."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're a sniper, blah, blah, blah." McG slowly retorted. "I get you didn't miss as many as me, but you had a few more shots and you and Top seem just fine."

Jaz, Dalton and Amir all exchanged secret smiles while McG still had his head in his hands. What McG didn't know was that he was so drunk the night before, he hadn't noticed that the others weren't always taking the shots they should have been. Admittedly, they were still drunk, just not like McG was. Not the kind of drunk that led him to sleep on the couch with a bucket beside him, just in case.

"Get some sleep." Dalton offered. "We've got hours on this plane, might as well catch up on some forty winks."

"Yes sir." And with that McG, let his head rest back, crossed his arms over his chest and let the plane lull him into a deep and much needed sleep.

The others looked on at him amusedly, before trying to get some rest themselves.

* * *

Patricia was there to greet them on arrival in DC, and with the good news that they didn't need to stay there for as long as first expected. According to the Deputy Director, with the compulsory in-depth counselling the team had after Elijah died and after the mission in Tehran, along with the powers-that-be's genuine relief that Hoffman was definitely dead this time, they only needed to stay for a couple of days just to recap on other missions.

That was welcome news to the four remaining members. Recapping missions isn't always easy, and to have to spend days summarising the three worst missions of their deployment had not been happily anticipated.

As the CO, Dalton would have to stay one more day to sign off on a lot of paperwork and meet with the DIA to discuss future deployments. But as they all headed straight to the hotel Patricia had booked for them, their steps were lighter and the relief was noticeable.

After an early night for them all, which McG had needed, despite sleeping the whole way home from Turkey, they breezed through the next day at the DIA. They spent the day gathered in a conference room with the DC-based side of their team and some higher ups. Missions were recalled, facts were re-stated and decisions were justified. They knew the next day would be exactly the same, and despite their tiredness, the four SOG7 team members had dinner together at the hotel that night.

Jaz was the last to arrive in the hotel's bar to meet the others. Her gaze fell on Dalton as soon as she stepped in. It was always the first thing she did in an unfamiliar situation; search for him, as if seeing him put her at ease. In fact she knew that's exactly what it was. And with him standing there in a navy blue checked shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and jeans that were a bit of a snugger fit than the ones he usually wore around base, her chest pounded with more than just feelings of ease.

Dalton saw Jaz the moment she stepped out of the elevator. It was second nature for him to be constantly on the lookout for his team, and as hard as it was to admit to himself, she was the one he looked for first.

As she walked into the bar and caught sight of him, Jaz stopped momentarily as if to gather herself. It was a blink and you'll miss it moment, but as her eyes met his she gave him a slow smile, one he returned as she approached the group.

She noticed three beers sitting on the bar table the three guys had snagged, one of them waiting for her.

"Finally recovered have we?" she teased McG.

He just gave her one of his big, easy smiles as he responded, "You know it Jazzy, I always bounce back."

"Eventually." Amir had added, as McG's smile turned into a glare. But then they all genuinely laughed, just happy to be back on home soil, with no threats and the time to just enjoy each other's company before heading their separate ways the day after tomorrow.

They didn't have a late night, as they were due back at the DIA early the next morning and then they were all heading out to a dinner with the entire team that following evening.

Amir left to head up to his room straight after dinner and the other three decided to have one more drink in the hotel bar.

"My shout." McG announced as he headed to the bar for the drinks.

Jaz looked after him with raised eyebrows, "Wow, what's gotten into him, he rarely shouts drinks."

"Who knows, but I'm not complaining. Maybe we can get a couple more out of him." Dalton replied, as he looked at her with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye.

That twinkle in his eye is what makes her catch her breath. Every time. Those clear blue eyes did something to her that she couldn't name or label, and she didn't want to, or didn't want to admit to wanting to. She wondered in that moment, how she would get through the next few months without the safety and comfort of those blue eyes. It's no secret that she and Dalton got closer during this deployment. It was a tough one and without his support, she didn't know where she would be.

Luckily McG came back with the drinks then to save her from staring. Jaz sat with them for another ten minutes, but as soon as she finished her beer she excused herself and told them both she would see them in the morning.

She didn't miss Dalton's look of surprise that she was leaving so soon, but left with the parting line, "Gotta get my beauty sleep."

"You need all the help you can get." McG joked after her, and she replied by turning around and flashing him the bird.

McG and Dalton both chuckled after her and McG didn't miss the way Dalton's eyes stayed on Jaz until her saw her enter the elevator and the doors closed behind her. He didn't say anything, he knew better than to broach that subject with Top, but if these two thought their closeness this deployment had gone unnoticed, they had another think coming. He just smiled to himself and hoped they would figure it out one day.

* * *

The next day at the DIA went much the same as the previous one, with the exception that they wrapped up earlier and had time to get back to the hotel to get themselves ready for their dinner. Amir, Jaz and McG were glad that their debriefs were done for this deployment, and although Dalton didn't complain, he wished that he was done too.

The restaurant was walking distance from their hotel and they once again arranged to meet in the hotel bar.

Jaz was last to arrive again, and after she exited the elevator she took the time to appreciate these three good looking men she was fortunate enough to call her family. They all stood in tailored pants and shirts, looking dressier than their previous evening. They knew this restaurant was fancier than the hotel restaurant and thought they should dress for the occasion. While all three men were clearly drawing the eye of fellow bar patrons, it was Dalton that her gaze remained on as she approached the group. To say he looked handsome was an understatement. The grey pants and light blue shirt he wore fit him like a glove and those eyes of his were enough to set off any outfit.

She wasn't feeling particularly comfortable in the dress she had selected for the evening. She was much more at home in her fatigues or gym wear, or even just jeans and t-shirt, but like the guys, she thought she better dress for the occasion.

Once again Dalton spotted Jaz as soon as she exited the elevator and this time he had to consciously make an effort not to stare. The simple black dress she wore and her long hair flowing down her back showed off her femininity, which she doesn't always get a chance to show in their line of work. It wasn't like he had never seen her in a dress before, she had to wear them for missions sometimes, but this one wasn't for a mission. It wasn't to play a part. This was just Jaz, and she was stunning.

Amir and McG turned around as Jaz approached and McG wolf whistled and followed with, "Jazzy you have legs!"

"Fuck off McG, just because I don't prance around with as little clothing as possible…"

"Hey it's hot in Turkey, just trying to stay cool." McG put his hands up and defended himself.

Amir, as always, was his lovely and polite self, "You look really nice." Which earned him a smile from Jaz.

Dalton agreed, "Amir's right, you look really nice."

Trying to get the attention off of her, which she wasn't comfortable with, she returned with a back-handed compliment, "Well you all look a hell of a lot better than you have done in 7 months."

"We smell a hell of a lot better too." Dalton agreed with her, before ushering them all outside to start their walk to the restaurant.

* * *

The dinner went well and it was nice for the field team and the DIA team to spend some time together without it being mission related. They sat for a few hours eating, drinking and trading stories. Since the DC based team, and Dalton, had to be back in the office the next morning, it wasn't a late night.

Conscious that it was their last night together before they went their separate ways the next day, the field team went straight to the hotel bar to spend a bit longer in each other's company.

They sat and did what they do best. Joked with each other, payed out on McG, prodded Amir about his crush on Hannah and teased Top for being a mountain man. The talk soon turned to their plans for leave as it often did.

They all knew McG was heading straight to Montana to see his Mom. He doesn't even deny being a mommy's boy, in fact, he's quite proud of it.

Amir was flying to Lebanon to see his parents. He wasn't going to be there for the whole time, but felt a real need to see them after the emotional heaviness of this deployment.

They all knew what Top would be doing, he did the same thing every time. And Jaz mentioned going to New York before travelling around, "Who knows where," she added as an afterthought.

"Feel free to come to Montana anytime you want Jaz." McG offered. "You too Amir. My Mom loves the company and now you're such an experienced horseman, you would love the wide open spaces," he joked.

"Tempting." Amir replied, "But does your Mom cook better than you? There's only so many burritos I can stomach." He teased right back.

Dalton sat smiling at his team. He loved their banter. Loved that they all got along so well, even if it had taken Jaz a bit of time to come around to Amir.

He also had the conversation he had with Preach on their last night in Turkey weighing on him. He knew how Jaz felt about New York, and was surprised she was going at all. Should he offer up his cabin as a potential destination for her? How many rules would that be breaking? He's not sure, but he can't get the conversation out of his mind.

McG and Amir excused themselves after one more drink, since their flights were both in the early hours of the morning. Jaz's wasn't until 10am, so she figured one more drink wouldn't hurt and Dalton decided to keep her company.

"So what's happening with Patton?" Jaz broached over a gin and tonic.

Dalton took a quick sip of whiskey before replying, "He's in quarantine, but I'm hoping he gets cleared and I can pick him up the day after tomorrow so he can drive out to the cabin with me."

"Will your sister's be waiting for you?" Jaz continued.

"Nah, I told them I'd go and see them when I was settled back in. They like to bring the kids up to the cabin occasionally, but don't generally stay long term. It's too rustic for them."

"How rustic is rustic?" Jaz was genuinely curious.

"No neighbours, no postman, no mailbox even." Dalton responded.

"That actually sounds amazing."

Dalton gave her a quick smile and then asked tentatively, "Can I ask about New York? You never talk about it much and I was under the impression you weren't keen on spending much time there."

"I'm not," Jaz answered quietly and glanced down at her glass. She spun it around in her hand a few times before she continued, "I usually spent most of my leave with Elijah and his family. They are just as loud, crazy and lovable as he was. This is my first leave without him, and I guess New York is what I know the best. I don't plan on being there long, but it's just a start. Hopefully."

Dalton watched as she continued to spin her glass in her hand, not yet looking up.

"Will you see your Dad?" he asked gently. He knew this was a touchy subject. She didn't talk about her Dad to anyone, although he had been happy to hear that she had mentioned him in her conversation to Xander before she was cleared again for active duty.

"Not if I can help it."

That was what Dalton needed to hear.

His conversation with Preach was once again at the forefront of his mind and he battled with whether to put it out there at all. For the most part he wanted Jaz to feel like she had somewhere safe to go. That if she didn't want to be in New York and she didn't want to be alone, that she had options. Being without Elijah for the first time was something that he knew would be especially hard for her this time round and his heart ached for everything Jaz had been through the past several months.

He didn't know if it would be the smartest move. He couldn't deny that his feelings for his sniper were not purely platonic, and he couldn't deny that his relationship with her was different to his relationships with the rest of his team. Should he be shying away from that? Or should he be exploring it, like Preach had hinted at, on more than one occasion.

He knew Preach and McG had extended their invitations to her and that's another reason he loves this team so much. They looked after each other and out for each other without a second thought. And it was that thought that finally tipped the scales for him.

"You know you can always come visit me at the cabin, right?" he tried to throw out there casually.

Jaz stopped spinning her glass, kept her head down, but raised her eyes up to meet his.

"Did you really just invite me to your cabin?" she checked. "Your sacred place, your alone space, your mountain man space?" she teased as she looked at him through her eyelashes.

Dalton tried hard to keep things light and casual, and shrugged, "I mean, I know it's not Preach's big family home, or McG's ranch, or Amir's family mansion, but it has its charms."

"Such as…?" Jaz prompted

"Bugs. Big bugs. Probably the biggest bugs you've ever seen." Dalton said with a lot of emphasis while trying to keep a straight face.

"Well, how can I refuse bugs?" Jaz laughed and Dalton joined in.

This easy interaction was why they got along so well. They could flip a serious conversation into light hearted banter in the blink of an eye. It was what worked well in the field too, kept them from going crazy with everything they see. The whole team shared these traits, and if Dalton was honest, he didn't think he could work with anyone that couldn't get on board with this.

They were both still chuckling and finished the last of their drinks.

As they stood up and made their way to the elevator, Dalton threw in one last comment, "Seriously though, the offer is there. If you need it."

"Thanks Top, I appreciate it."

* * *

The next morning all four of them met very early in the hotel lobby. McG and Amir had a taxi booked to take them to the airport, but Jaz and Dalton wanted to say good bye to them. They didn't know for sure when they would see each other next and after living on top of each other for so many months it was always strange when they went their separate ways.

"Jaz, you really got up early to come say bye? I feel so special, it warms my heart." McG tentatively teased, knowing that Jaz was _not_ a morning person.

Jaz tried to look annoyed, but the truth was she would miss McG and their sibling-like relationship. It was one of the easiest relationships she had ever had, and she wouldn't ever forget that he had constantly tried to make her smile or laugh over the most mundane things when she had needed it the most during this deployment.

So instead she just smirked and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back and rested his chin on top of her head. He was going to miss her just as much.

Jaz then turned to Amir, opened up her arms and just said in her blunt way, "C'mon then."

She would miss Amir more than she would ever tell him and was genuinely glad he was part of their team. She felt a little bad at the way she had treated him at first, but was glad that he didn't appear to hold grudges. A definite advantage to working with men.

Amir laughed and hugged her back. He knew he hadn't been a welcome surprise for her when he first arrived, but was happy that they could now walk away as good friends.

"See you two losers when I see you." Jaz said as her departing comment. She didn't cope well with the sentimental stuff, and they knew that about her as they just raised their eyebrows and smirked.

Dalton walked the two guys out to their cab as Jaz went back up to her room to finish packing. She was going to meet Dalton back in the lobby for breakfast and then he would be dropping her off at the airport before his last day at the DIA.

* * *

Dalton pulled up to the curb outside the domestic terminal at the airport. He and Jaz had spent most of the car ride in relatively comfortable silence, both a bit lost in their thoughts.

Jaz was trying not to think about being away from her team for the next few months. She honestly didn't know how long she would last in New York. And still wondered why she was bothering to even go there in the first place, but she guessed she would figure it out, it's not like she wasn't used to thinking on her feet.

Dalton couldn't help but wonder if she had thought about his offer the previous evening. If he was honest with himself, he didn't know what _he_ actually thought about his offer. He had let Preach get into his head, but it had seemed right at the time. He hoped he hadn't scared her off or made her uncomfortable. And he hoped it hadn't been inappropriate. But at the very least, he was her CO and looking after his team and their well-being was part of the job description.

At least that's what he kept telling himself.

They got out of the car, Dalton grabbed her bags from the back and then joined Jaz on the pavement.

They both looked at each other for a moment in silence and smiled.

"This is you officially dismissed Sgt Khan." Dalton tried to lighten the moment.

Jaz did that trademark scowl of hers and asked, "Do you expect me to salute you now?"

"I assume it would be with your middle finger." Dalton quickly retorted and they both laughed.

Jaz knew they couldn't stand there forever, the curb side at the airport was manic at best.

So she tried to say as casually as possible, "I suppose you want a hug now too?"

"Well I'd be insulted if Amir got a hug and I didn't." Dalton responded while also trying to sound as casual as possible.

While they were both chuckling they took a step closer so they were standing face to face and wrapped their arms around each other.

Jaz put both arms around his neck, while Dalton had one arm enveloping the middle of her back and the other hand resting just below her neck, wrapped up in her hair. With his strong hand holding her there, she found her face pressed up warm against his cheek and his surprisingly soft beard tickled her face.

The scent of Dalton as she was breathing him in reminded Jaz of all the times they had sat out looking at the stars, sometimes sitting close together so he could whisper the stories to her without anyone else hearing. The warmth of his face against hers reminded her of how safe and comfortable she always felt in his presence.

As Dalton rested his head against hers, he couldn't help but remember doing the same thing when they lost Elijah and the same thing after getting her back in Tehran. It was for her comfort. It was for his own comfort too if he was being honest. And the way she felt in his arms, was like she was meant to be there.

They held each other a moment longer, before realising that this embrace was going on longer than a platonic hug should, and slowly took a slight step back.

Jaz lowered her arms so her hands were on his shoulders and chose that moment to look up and found herself caught in his crystal blue eyes. Dalton stared down into her big brown eyes and long thick lashes, hands still on her waist. They were still standing close, both of them taking long, deep breaths, with their heads still close together and eyes locked on each other.

The part of Dalton that made him a great CO, the part trying to get control of this situation and wrangle his emotions managed to kick in. He took another slow breath before taking a small step back, letting his hands slip from her waist, cleared his throat roughly and said, "Well, have a great flight."

"Uh yeah, thanks." Jaz replied, equally as roughly, as her own arms fell to her side.

Although she knew he said it to all his team, when he said "Text me when you get there", she couldn't help but have her spirits lifted slightly knowing that she would be in contact with him later that day.

"Will do, Top."

 _Top_.

That was just another reminder Dalton needed that he was her Captain and she was his subordinate. With very clear rules between them.

With one quick, final look into Dalton's eyes and a smile that didn't quite reach hers, Jaz turned and walked into the airport, willing herself not to look back.

Dalton stood there with his hands on his hips and watched her go, hoping that she would be ok, and feeling a little despondent that he may not see her for several months. They hadn't mentioned his offer again, so Jaz probably just thought he was being polite.

Probably for the best he thought, as he finally got back into the car. These few months at his cabin are exactly what he needs and he hopes that he can clear his head and get back to thinking about all his team mates as friends and colleagues.

Nothing else.

Then he remembers how it felt to hold Jaz in that hug.

Fuck.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you think :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I tossed up which direction to take this in, but this made the most sense to me. It's a slow burn story, so patience is key, because I think it's going to be a long one. Hope you like this chapter and please let me know what you think :)**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... but I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

It's been ten days since the team started their leave and went their separate ways.

Dalton had wrapped up his extra day with the DIA, managed to spring Patton from quarantine and then drove to his cabin in the mountains.

He had heard from each of his teammates once they arrived at their destination. It was just a habit of his to know that everyone was safe. As CO on deployment, he had to know where everyone was at all times. That tended to continue with him once everyone was stateside too.

He had continued to hear from McG, Amir and Preach every few days. The whole team had a group chat on WhatsApp and kept in touch regularly, most of the time trading insults and throwing shade at each other, in the way only these guys can. With love.

Jaz was part of that group too, but was yet to contribute to the conversation at all since flying to New York. They knew she had seen the messages, so they weren't worried, but she usually delighted in teasing these guys, so her silence was a little bit strange.

In fact, other than the "Safe and sound," text that Dalton had received when she arrived in New York, she had not been in any other contact.

Dalton wasn't too worried. He knew that Jaz liked her alone time, and after so many months of living on top of each other in the Quonset hut, he's sure she is enjoying her own space.

He also knew that she had a lot to process after this deployment. They all did really, but Jaz kept so much bottled up inside that hopefully she was now using this time to decompress. He just wished that she would share some of that with the team

Of course, that didn't stop him from checking his phone constantly throughout the day. Or checking every WhatsApp message to see if she had received it and read it. Maybe he should send a question to her specifically in the group chat to see if she responded? Maybe he should text _just_ her and see if she responded? Or maybe he should just stop thinking about it. Jaz was more than capable of taking care of herself. She was a soldier for heaven's sake, and he knew she would surface when she was ready.

That didn't stop him from missing her though.

He missed them all, of course, but it was Jaz that came to mind when he had something to share. He had finally managed to teach Patton to obey some commands, and it was Jaz he wanted to share that with. He'd get a kick out of telling her, since she constantly laughed at the dog's usual indifference to Dalton.

The cabin had been a very welcome sight for sore eyes when he had arrived with Patton. This place was his refuge and he's so glad he has kept it all these years because there's nowhere else he would rather be. Especially after months of being here, there and everywhere.

He'd spent these ten days doing some general maintenance around the place. It remained locked up for much of the year and needed some airing and some odd jobs to make it comfortable again, and he was in his element doing so.

Preach wasn't far off when he called him a mountain man. Going hiking, fishing, swimming in the lake, chopping wood, cleaning gutters and working on some odd jobs was his decompression time. It soothed him, kept him fit and busy, and kept his mind off the nightmares that invaded his sleep some nights.

The pictures that go through his head come night time varied. Sometimes they showed Elijah when they had found him shot and lying prone in Jaz's arms. Sometimes they involved Preach lying in that hospital bed, or his final encounter with Hoffman. And sometimes they involved a figure dressed all in white, with blood dripping down her arms, hand chained above her head and a look that varied between fear, pain and despondence on her face.

He's not sure which one was worse, but he knew when he woke he had to get up and moving to banish them from his mind.

* * *

Jaz had spent the last ten days in New York, trying to figure out why the hell she had come here.

She had rented a small apartment through Airbnb, purely because New York was a city she knew. She knew the best places to get coffee, and the best food. And she also knew the places to avoid.

She was missing her team. She had seen all the messages being thrown around in their group WhatsApp chat, but she hadn't responded to any yet. In fact, other than a quick text to Top to let him know she had arrived safe and sound in the city, she literally hadn't text anyone since.

That doesn't mean that she isn't checking her phone a hundred times a day to see if anyone has text her. The guys have kept her entertained with their banter and at some points she has literally started to type a reply out to them, but she's always ended up deleting them before she hit send.

She's also typed out messages to Top. Multiple times. Yet again, they weren't sent. They were friends first and foremost. They have always got along really well, but she just can't bring herself to reach out and initiate contact.

Jaz knows it's a defence mechanism. If she has little contact with them, she will miss them less, right? The more she converses with them, the more it would be like being on the Incirlik base, and that is where she considers home.

Needless to say, she didn't have anyone to contact in the city either. She hadn't spoken to any family in years, and she never really had any friends in the city. She had mostly kept to herself at school, and then she had joined the Army right after that so there was no one to keep in touch with.

She hadn't made many friends in the Army. Sticking to her school pattern, she had kept mostly to herself throughout training and her first few deployments. Other women soldiers had either been threatened by her or kept their distance due to her loner reputation. Then as she firstly joined Delta Force and had then been recruited to Dalton's team, the women were very few and far between.

The men had been a different story. She had seen it all. Those who thought women had no business in the military. Those who thought she was in the military for their own pleasure. Those who questioned her skill set and kept her grounded wherever possible, and those who couldn't accept that a woman could perform a task equally or better than they could.

That all changed when she joined Special Operations Group 7. She had repeatedly asked herself over the last three years how she got so lucky as to find herself on this team. She had meant every word when she told Top that he was the only CO who looks at her and doesn't see a woman first. That goes for them all. She had never been as comfortable with a group of people as she had been with her team.

These guys were her friends. They were her family.

So again, why the hell did she come to New York?

The only answer she could come up with at the moment was because she needed some space to decompress. It had been a tough deployment and she wasn't denying that she had put on a brave face numerous times.

Losing Elijah had broken her heart. Being captured and tortured had almost broken her soul. Hossein being a casualty felt like a dagger in her side, and seeing Preach unresponsive and in a coma had made her question what was really important in life.

All of those things were vivid in her dreams and nightmares. There was one other image that haunted her too. Her CO, sitting in a chair, covered in blood and with a gunshot wound straight through his forehead.

 _Her CO_ , she kept reminding herself.

Some nights she slept dream free, but the times when the nightmares invaded, she got up, put on her running or boxing gear and tried to banish them from her mind.

* * *

On the eleventh morning, Dalton woke up panting and sweating after a particularly vivid nightmare. Images of Jaz being led away by the Quds, of Jaz being dead when they had blown open that van and of Jaz being covered in blood with Hoffman standing over her, had swirled around in his head. The difficult missions had started to integrate in his slumber and waking up had never been such a relief.

He must have been tossing and turning and calling out, as Patton was right next to him, instead of on his bed in the living area, nudging Dalton with his nose as if to check that he was ok.

The sun hadn't even risen yet, but he knew after that nightmare, there was no way he would be closing his eyes again any time soon.

He sat up in bed and reached over to scratch Patton.

"I'm ok buddy, I'm ok." He said reassuringly, although he wasn't sure if it was directed at Patton or to himself.

He checked his phone and saw that there were no messages. After a fleeting feeling of disappointment he got himself up and went to put the coffee pot on and thought about what sort of manual labour he could put his body through today to drown out those lingering images.

Instead of labour he decides to hike to a waterfall that he has always loved, but hasn't yet visited since his return. It was a good couple of hours away on foot, so he knew it would be an all-day outing, but it was exactly what he needed.

After drinking his coffee he washed up, packed the essentials in a back pack, including board shorts to swim in, made sure he had food and water for himself and Patton, and set off for the day.

He left the porch light on as there was a fair chance it would be getting dark by the time he got back.

* * *

An hour into his hike, Dalton still had the images of his nightmare ingrained in his mind. He pushed himself harder, walked faster and tried to sweat it all out.

Like most soldiers, the horror they see on deployments often gets revisited in their dreams, but the images of Jaz were something else. She was on his team. He was her Captain. He was directly responsible for her safety, and he hadn't been able to keep her safe. Sure, they had got her back, and she was back to being a fully integrated part of his team, but he knew those images of her would stay with him forever.

What he didn't know was whether that was because she was simply under his command, or whether it was because she had somehow gotten under his skin.

Whatever it was, he used it to fuel his fire and continued to push himself. The sooner he got to the waterfall, the sooner he could cool off with a swim in the lake at the bottom.

He quickly checked his phone again for any messages as he knew the range in these areas was dodgy at best, fading in and out the closer he got to the waterfall.

Nothing.

No news is good news, he kept trying to tell himself. If only he could get rid of that little feeling of disappointment which had lodged itself deep in his gut.

And his heart.

* * *

Jaz woke herself up screaming. She sat up straight in her bed, gulping for breath and reaching desperately to put on the bed side lamp.

These damn nightmares are really starting to piss her off.

She also missed her team more than ever right now. Every time she had cried out in her dreams whilst back on base, one of them had always come to check on her. While a part of her hated letting them see her weaknesses, the comfort they gave her and knowing they were close by, always made her feel more at ease.

None of them were close by at the moment and she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself.

She sat there in bed, trying to calm her breathing down. Lifting her sweaty hair off her neck, she reached over for her phone to check the time. It was only 5:15am, and although she generally woke up early on base, she wasn't naturally a morning person, and loved an excuse to sleep in.

Jaz knew after that nightmare that there was no way she would get back to sleep, so after waiting another five minutes, still taking big deep breaths and trying to stop her hands from shaking, she got up and made herself a coffee with the apartment's Nespresso machine.

Jaz loved coffee and sat cradling it in her hands while she watched the sun start to rise out the kitchen window. This particular nightmare had shaken her more than any other before.

It had her father in it, and he hadn't been a part of her nightmares for a very long time.

Jaz finished her coffee, and with her hands still shaking she dressed in her running gear, threw her hair into a ponytail, grabbed her phone and went out to pound the pavement.

She had always loved physical exercise, and she had never struggled with the army's strict fitness regime. She thrived on it actually, and she used it as an escape.

Twenty minutes into her run, she still couldn't banish the images from her head. She'd had a lot of nightmares this deployment, particularly after Elijah died. She would relive him being shot countless times. And after Tehran, the nightmares had taken it to a whole new level, including losing Hossein and her entire team.

This nightmare in particular is not one she had experienced before. This one involved Elijah and Top, both lying there with bullet wounds in their head, blood everywhere and her father standing over them with a smoking gun.

What the fuck?

While her father used to be a figure in her nightmares, it had been years since he had invaded them.

So why on earth had he just made a comeback?

She only had one answer.

It was because she was back in New York.

At the end of her previous deployments, she had always spent most of her time with Elijah. His family had always welcomed her like she had been around forever, and she loved seeing a family with so much love for each other.

She still kept in touch with them, but it hadn't felt right to go and see them after this deployment. She might towards the end of her leave, but she didn't want to remind them that she had come home, but Elijah hadn't. It was definitely times like these that she missed him the most.

This was the first time she had been back in New York for years, and it pissed her off that the memories of her father affect her so much, that he had invaded her rest time. Being in this city, that held no happy memories was toxic. She had no intention of seeing her father. She didn't even know where he lived these days, but knowing that she was in the same city as him was a clear step backwards for her.

As she continued to pound the pavement, she made a snap decision.

She needed to leave New York. It wasn't good for her mental health and she desperately wanted to continue working on that after a few sessions with Xander back on base. Realistically, she should never have come back, but her stubborn streak had her thinking she could handle it.

She had been wrong.

With that decision made, she wondered where she should go.

She has no idea, but she would figure that along the way.

After running for nearly an hour, she went back to her apartment, showered quickly and sat and ate some breakfast. After she rang her Airbnb host to inform them she would be checking out early, she began throwing all her stuff back into the bags she had come back from Turkey with.

She had a couple more things to take care of, including hiring a car.

Two hours later, she left the city, and she wasn't sure if she would ever be back.

* * *

Patton trotted along next to Dalton as they made their way back to the cabin.

They had spent a couple of hours at the waterfall, exploring the rock pools at the bottom of it and swimming in the lake. Dalton didn't know if Patton had ever been swimming before, but he had now, and since he would be with Dalton all the time from now on, he'd be doing a lot more of it.

Dalton had sat on a warm rock to take a couple of photos on his phone. He wasn't usually one to take many photos and gave McG and Jaz a lot of flak for always being so snap happy. Having said that, he thought it might be nice to send a couple of pictures to their group chat when he got within range of cell service. It really was one of his favourite spots in the world and he wanted to show them.

He wasn't walking back at the same pace as he had on his way to the waterfall, but he was right that this had been the best way to free himself from last night's nightmare. The peace he found in nature and the outdoors calmed him. And while he knew there would be more nightmares, for today he had successfully conquered this one.

Now that he and Patton were about half an hour away from his cabin, he took his phone out of his pocket and saw that he was back in range.

He quickly sent off a couple of photos and an explanation to their WhatsApp chat, and sure enough, within ten minutes or so, McG responded with a quip about Amir not being able to touch the bottom whilst standing in those rock pools.

Dalton continued his walk back, chuckling to himself, especially when Amir just responded with the 'middle finger' emoji.

After thinking about it, he quickly sent the 'crying with laughter' emoji to the group chat and put his phone back in his pocket before he rounded the last corner to his cabin.

As soon as he did, he saw a car parked out the front, blocking the front of the porch where he had left the light on.

He hadn't been expecting anyone. His sisters usually always messaged him before turning up, and that wasn't very often.

He slowed his gait momentarily, and habit had him looking around cautiously and checking for dangers or clues, but he couldn't see anything and there wasn't anyone in the car.

All of a sudden, Patton perked his ears up and with his tail wagging he ran around the front of the car to the other side.

Dalton walked slowly around the car to see Patton jumping all over someone who was sitting on the step to his porch. They were laughing and telling Patton to calm down and stop being silly.

Dalton would know that deep, throaty voice anywhere.

"Jaz?" he asked as he stopped dead in his tracks.

She looked up at him, with Patton sitting on the step next to her.

She paused for a moment, picked up her phone that was sitting next to her, held it up to him and asked incredulously, "Since when do you send emojis?"

* * *

 **What did you think?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's the next chapter for you all, enjoy!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... but I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

Dalton stared at Jaz. He was in disbelief right now that she was there, sitting on his porch.

He took a beat, took a deep breath and then walked over to sit down next to her.

"Since when do you not respond to texts?" he fired back at her.

"Fair call," Jaz responded quietly with a shrug, and then continued "but an emoji? I didn't think you even knew how to use them."

"Patton and I have both learnt a few new tricks in the last week and a half." Dalton smirked.

"Patton huh? Now this I can't wait to see." Jaz said, while still scratching Patton behind his ears.

Dalton just sat and watched her playing with Patton. Should he ask her why she's here? Why it's only been eleven days and she's already left New York? Why she chose to visit him and not Preach or McG?

After a few more seconds, he made up his mind to leave that line of questioning alone for now. She looked tired. In fact, she looked exhausted and that was not how you were supposed to look on leave. He would come back to it eventually, but for now, he would just take it with a grain of salt and admit to himself that it was nice to see her.

Really nice.

"How long ago did you arrive?" he asked.

"About half an hour ago. Any longer I would have broken in." Jaz answered matter of factly.

"I have no doubt, that's why I'm surprised to see you sitting out here. Come on, let's go in. I need a shower."

Jaz appreciated that he hadn't given her the third degree just yet about why she was there. She had no doubt he would eventually, but after a long drive with only her thoughts to keep her company, she's not sure if she was ready to have that conversation right now.

Truth be told, she's not sure she has the answers to the questions she's expecting just yet.

Thankful for the reprieve for now, she follows him inside and can't believe what she sees.

"You said this cabin was rustic!' She accused.

"No, I said it was too rustic for my sisters." Dalton corrected.

Jaz recalled their conversation, "No neighbours, no postman, no mailbox even, is what you said".

"That's true. But I like it that way. My sister's on the other hand are not fans. There's no big shopping mall or coffee shop close by. There's a whole slew of other stuff they've used as excuses for not coming up here very often. For me though, it's heaven."

Jaz took in his words and stepped further into the cabin.

It was far from rustic.

The living room had two very comfy looking couches and a large TV fixed to the wall. It was decorated in neutral tones and the rug, the side tables and lamps made it very cosy looking.

The kitchen off to the side wasn't large, but not small either. It had a stainless steel oven and cook top, and a matching fridge, microwave and dishwasher. In front of the granite kitchen bench was a six-seater timber table that actually looked like it had been passed down a few generations. In fact, it was the oldest looking thing she had seen so far in the cabin.

Jaz was wide eyed and turned around to face Dalton.

"Seriously?" she asked. "This is not what I expected for a mountain man."

Dalton just shrugged, "It's you guys that always tease me about being a mountain man, and I suppose I do live in the mountains. That's not to say that I want to live with less creature comforts than we do in the Quonset hut though."

He watched her as she continued to explore. There were two bedrooms on the other side of the living room and a bathroom containing a double shower.

"Two bedrooms and a double shower? This is practically luxurious."

"I won't tell you that I'm thinking of building a third bedroom as well." Dalton teased before continuing, "For my sister's kids, if they ever all come and visit."

"Or for Amir and McG when they need babysitting." Jaz proposed.

They both laughed at that, and Jaz realised how much she missed the other guys too. McG and Amir were the closest thing she had to a sibling relationship and their rapport with each other meant more to her than she would probably ever tell them.

Dalton broke into her thoughts, "Ok, I'm going to take a shower. Make yourself comfortable, feel free to make yourself coffee or grab a drink from the fridge and we'll figure out dinner when I'm done."

"Thanks." Jaz replied simply, and wandered into the kitchen to find the coffee.

Dalton watched her for a few more seconds before heading into the bathroom.

He stood in the shower and thought about Jaz being right there in his cabin, right there in his kitchen. To say he was surprised was an understatement. He wanted to ask her a million questions, but he knew that wasn't really their style. He and Jaz connected on a different level to their other teammates, and they have talked about the hard stuff before. But he didn't want to frighten her off straight away. She had obviously left New York so quickly and come here for a reason, and he knows if he waits, he'll eventually find out why that is.

Sometimes all you can do, is wait.

* * *

Jaz was sitting on the couch, which was as comfy as it looked, sipping a cup of coffee when Dalton came out of the bathroom in just his towel.

In his defence, he had forgotten all about taking some clean clothes into the bathroom with him. He wasn't used to having guests much at the cabin, and other than walk across to his room stark naked, like he usually did, the towel would have to do. It's not like Jaz wasn't used to seeing him with his top off anyway.

Jaz did her very best not to choke on her coffee as she watched Dalton walk over to his bedroom and quickly close the door. She had seen him countless times without a shirt on, all of her team for that matter. Seen a lot more on some occasions too, which was unavoidable in the close quarters in which they lived in and some of the situations they got themselves into on missions.

This felt different somehow.

It felt a lot more intimate, there in his cabin, and without any of the others around.

His broad shoulders, strong arms and well defined abs, had her wondering what they would feel like under her fingertips, or on top of… No.

Jaz had to force herself to quickly think of something else. She had just turned up here and the last thing she needed was to make things awkward because of her school girl crush on her Captain.

Before her thoughts went any further, Dalton joined her in the living room in a pair of jeans and one of his army t-shirts. Her favourite t-shirts.

"Should've known you'd go straight for the coffee." He teased her.

"It was a long drive and the coffee I grabbed at a service station tasted like McG's."

That made him shudder and chuckle at the same time.

"Ok, dinner." he stated. "I was going to have a steak, but there is only one of them, so I'll see what else I've got."

"Sorry for just dropping by, you have your steak, I can just have a sandwich or something." Jaz offered.

"Nah I've got stuff in the freezer and don't apologise. It's good to see you." He said simply with a smile on his face.

Jaz watched him as he peered into the freezer, feeling the warmth of her coffee spread all over her as he said it was good to see her. She had questioned her decision to come here for the entire drive. Why didn't she fly over to see Preach, or McG? She wasn't sure, but she knew from the feeling of ease and safety that she had felt since she first saw Dalton turn that last corner from his hike, she had made the right decision.

"How do you feel about frozen pizza?" Dalton broke into her thoughts.

Jaz was still a bit lost in her thoughts so she just nodded her head and gave him a thumbs up, to which he returned the gesture and put the oven on to start warming up.

* * *

They were both sitting back on the couch, drinking beer and watching of all things, a military show on TV. They had polished off the pizza a couple of hours ago. Jaz hadn't realised how hungry she had been before remembering that she hadn't eaten anything since her breakfast that morning in New York. That seemed so long ago now. She couldn't believe that this morning she had been in that tiny apartment and now here she was in Dalton's luxurious cabin, in Pennsylvania.

As if reading her thoughts, Dalton thought he would broach the subject that they hadn't yet spoken about.

"So, are you staying?" He asked softly.

"Um… I mean… if that's ok." Jaz stuttered out before continuing, "I know you offered, but I wasn't sure if you meant it or not."

Dalton gave her an easy smile. "I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it."

"Thanks." She said simply, with a small smile and a note of relief in her voice.

"Stay as long as you want. Have you got stuff in your car? Let's get it and then I'll show you your room."

"My room," she mumbled to herself with disbelief. She had fully expected to be sleeping on a couch, or in a tent.

After retrieving Jaz's bags, Dalton led her to the other bedroom, which was right next to his. It had a queen size bed, two bedside tables, a chest of drawers with a mirror above it and a built in wardrobe.

Jaz just shook her head and burst out laughing.

"Rustic, my ass!" She blurted out.

He joined in with the laughing and said with his hands in the air, "Again, not my words. But hope this is ok for you. The bed is actually freshly made and there are towels in the bathroom when you need them."

What he didn't tell her was that he had made the bed up fresh the day after he arrived at the cabin. Sub-consciously he had hoped she would come, and if she didn't, at least the bed would be ready for any other visitors.

"Well I'm going to turn in for the night, is there anything you need?" Dalton asked.

The early morning and the all day hike had him buggered, and he knew if he went to bed, she would too. And she looked like she desperately needed sleep.

Jaz just shook her head. She was exhausted herself and the big warm bed in her room, _her room,_ looked very inviting.

"Ok then, try and get some sleep. You know where the coffee is if you're up early. Goodnight." With that, Dalton headed for the door.

Just as he brushed past her, she reached out and placed her hand gently on his arm and although it caught him a bit off guard, he stopped and couldn't help but look down into her big brown eyes.

She whispered, so quietly he could barely hear her, "Thanks, Top."

That's all she said. That's all she needed to say. Dalton could see by the appreciative look in her eyes and her soft smile that she was happy to be there.

He was happy to have her there.

He kept his eyes on hers, softly put his hand on top of hers and replied gently, "You're welcome, Jaz."

She looked right back into his eyes and he felt his breath catch slightly. He reluctantly pulled both his hand and eyes away and he left her and went into his own room.

Dalton entered his bedroom, still slightly in disbelief that Jaz was actually there. He didn't know whether to blame Preach or thank him for putting this whole idea into his head. And now she was right there on the other side of his bedroom wall. Their rooms on base were right next to each other as well, but there were three other guys sharing walls too. This time it was just the two of them.

Jaz was both physically and mentally exhausted. Being back stateside had been an absolute mind fuck for her, and it had only been less than two weeks. She still didn't know if coming here was the best thing, but she could figure that out when she was less fatigued.

That night, sleeping in their room's right next to each other, they both fell into a long, deep slumber, both exhausted from their long day. No nightmares invaded either of their dreams that night and it was the best sleep the both of them had since returning from Turkey.

* * *

The smell of freshly brewed coffee is what roused Jaz from her dreamless sleep the next morning. She took a few moments to remind herself of where she was and then stretched before getting out of bed and going in search of the coffee.

Dalton was standing outside on the back veranda with a coffee cup in hand and Patton sitting at his feet. After pouring a mug for herself, she opened the sliding door and stepped outside to join him.

He turned around as he heard the door open and smiled at Jaz.

"I should have known the smell of coffee would wake you up." He teased, knowing her morning routine very well after 3 years of working together.

"Yeah well, you're one of the few that makes it how I like it." Jaz's voice was still sleepy, but Dalton took the compliment. She didn't hand them out easily.

He looked at her and was glad to see her looking less fatigued this morning. He had no idea how long she was going to stay, but he thought being out here, in the great outdoors would hopefully help with the sleep she so clearly, desperately needed.

"Sleep ok?" he checked with her.

Jaz smiled lazily and nodded her head slowly, "Like a log. That bed is amazing. We need to get mattresses like that on base."

"Oh yeah, I'll put in that request to the Deputy Director for our next deployment." Dalton replied tongue in cheek.

"Great, then I have a few other things to add to that list." Jaz teased right back.

They both laughed and continued to sip their coffee. This felt so easy. I mean, they did this for the large part of the year anyway, so it's not like sharing a morning coffee was a new thing. This time, though, there wouldn't be any of their team joining them.

That thought reminded Dalton of something and he turned to face Jaz again.

"Hey, if you're going stay for a little bit, can you do me favour? Text the guys. Tell them you're ok. It's up to you whether you tell them you're here or not, but they're worried. The only thing that stopped us launching a search and rescue was that we could see you had read our messages, even when you didn't reply."

Jaz turned and looked him right in the eye and noticed the slightly pleading look. It made her lower her eyes and look away. She hadn't stopped to think how her team might react when she hadn't answered any of them. She should know better. Their communication is what made their team elite.

"Yeah… Sorry I hadn't thought about it like that. I'll text everyone soon." She said as she turned back to him.

That was good enough for Dalton. For now at least.

He nodded to her and asked, "Breakfast?"

And with that, he had broken the slightly uncomfortable direction the conversation had taken for Jaz.

"Hell yes, I'm starving." Jaz replied enthusiastically and they both headed back inside to top up their coffee mugs and start breakfast.

* * *

After a filling breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast and after Jaz had showered, Dalton asked her what she wanted to do for the day.

"Do you need to go into town for anything, or return your hire car?"

"I've already paid for the car for a week, so I may as well keep it for now. But I don't want to ruin any plans you had, you don't need to baby sit me." She answered.

"I didn't have any concrete plans, I like to take each day as it comes when I'm up here. How about we head into town? I could do with stocking the fridge and pantry, especially now you're here…" He trailed off.

"You saying I eat a lot, Top?" Jaz asked with raised eyebrows.

That twinkle in his eye was back again. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

"But first, you're going to text everyone," he reasoned with her and she nodded at him as she went to get her phone.

Jaz sat and thought about what to text her guys. She didn't really know what to say to them, since she didn't exactly know what was going on in her own head. She wasn't sure if she wanted the guys to know she was in the mountains with Top either. McG would have a field day with that, and Preach… well she could just imagine Preach smiling to himself on the other end of the phone. She would fill them in eventually.

For now she would keep it simple, and casual, like she had always been a part of the ongoing conversation. She picked up from where they had left off yesterday:

 _ **Since when do you use emoji's Top? LMAO**_

 _ **I've left NY to do some exploring.**_

 _ **Will keep you all up to date now I've come out of hiding ;)**_

She sent it to the group chat, and was happy she had done what Top had asked. She realised she should have done it sooner. It sometimes still took her by surprise that there were actually people who cared what she was doing and where she was. Who actually cared for her as a person and who actually cared about her full stop. That took some getting used to.

She was inundated with replies straight away:

 _ **She's alive!**_ – McG

 _ **Hey stranger, you've been missed –**_ Preach

 _ **Good to hear from you, finally!**_ – Amir

 _ **Take care, Jaz –**_ Top

Jaz looked across the room at that last reply from Dalton, and he gave her a nod and a thumbs up as if to thank her for sending the message.

She obviously didn't want them to know where she was for now, and he understood that. He would play along for now. He didn't know how long they could keep it from the rest of them, especially since they had all planned on visiting each other over their leave. But he didn't know how long Jaz was planning on staying. A couple of days, a week, more?

For now, he would just take it day by day and just be thankful that he knew where she was, and that she was safe.

He couldn't deny he was looking forward to spending some time with Jaz, just the two of them. He wasn't sure he wanted the guys to know that just yet either. If only Preach could see them now.

* * *

 **This chapter was fairly light, it gets a bit heavier in the next couple of chapters. Hope you liked it :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hope you all like this one!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of the characters... but I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

The day after her surprising arrival in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Dalton drove himself and Jaz into the closest town. He pointed out a few shops to her in case she needed to get anything, and they did a massive food shop to stock the fridge, freezer and pantry.

There were considerably more sweet treats in the shopping trolley than Dalton was used to. Jaz had a sweet tooth, and with that in mind, he made sure he had the ingredients for s'mores since he liked to have an open fire some nights to sit and stare at the stars. They also got more beer and some wine, and Jaz made sure she had the ingredients for lasagne. She insisted on cooking dinner that night, and Dalton wasn't going to argue with that.

After finishing the food shop, they headed back to the cabin, unpacked all the food and decided to take Patton for a walk.

Jaz was amazed at all the hiking paths that there seemed to be around the cabin and Dalton promised to show some to her the next day. He thought she might like to see the waterfall that he had visited the previous day at some stage, and there was a lake super close to the cabin that he liked to swim and fish in.

He really loved the surrounds his cabin was located in, and hopefully Jaz will too.

About 20 minutes into their walk, they reached a viewpoint where Jaz stopped to take some photos on her phone.

"Wow, this view is amazing." She said as she continued to take a few more photos from different angles.

'This whole mountain range is pretty spectacular," Dalton commented and it made Jaz turn and look at him.

"You don't throw words like 'spectacular' around very often, Top." She chided.

"That's because there are very few things that are spectacular," Dalton reasoned.

"Fair point." Jaz continued to look all around her, "This is definitely the greenest place I have ever seen. Sure beats the concrete jungle of New York, and the aridness of Incirlik."

"What about Mongolia?" Dalton asked.

"That was definitely green, but the Russians trying to whip your ass kinda ruined the beauty of it."

"Ha! Copy that." Dalton laughed out loud, and Jaz joined in with him.

Being able to laugh about some of their missions was one way they were able to stay sane. It wasn't always the way, some left them feeling broken, sombre or frustrated. But that particular mission had been a success, when it really shouldn't have been. It'll be one they never forget.

Although they laughed about it now, Jaz will never forget that mission for a very different reason. She remembers taking out the sniper with a shot through his temple as he was about to fire his rifle at Top in the kill box. When Top hit the deck immediately following that, she had assumed the worst and thought the sniper had still hit his target. Despite Top's agonising cries as he told McG he hadn't been shot, but just had multiple broken ribs, the relief she felt had been palpable. They'd all been in close situations in their deployments, but when it was Top, they hurt a little bit more.

Patton barked at them both suddenly as if to hurry them up.

"So bossy," Jaz commented as they continued on and Dalton just chuckled.

* * *

When they returned from their walk, Patton curled right up on his indoor bed that Dalton had bought him and went straight to sleep.

"Must be nice to be a dog." Jaz envied.

"Yeah, what a life… but feel free to have a nap if you need one, there's still plenty of time before dinner." Dalton offered.

Jaz contemplated the idea for a moment but decided against it. She thought she would be better to push through and hopefully have another good night's sleep.

Instead, she went into the kitchen to start making the lasagne.

Jaz freely admitted that she was not good in the kitchen, and didn't really have the mother figure to learn such skills from, but one thing her Mum could cook, was lasagne. It was one of the few things she would and could cook on base, although now that Amir had demonstrated such a flair in the kitchen, they were all happy for him to do most of the cooking.

She managed to find all the paraphernalia that she needed and had it prepared quite quickly. She prepared a quick salad to go with it and there was garlic bread to whack in the oven too once they were ready for dinner.

Dalton was outside, clearing some fallen branches from around the cabin. He caught sight of her through the kitchen window and had to stop for a moment. Who would have thought that Sgt Jaz Khan would be there in his kitchen? Cooking! He had a small smile on his face as he continued with what he was doing. He couldn't deny that he liked having her there.

A few hours later, they enjoyed their dinner with a glass of the wine they had picked up in town. As Dalton cleared the dishes away, Jaz poured them another glass and remained sitting at the dining table.

"Question, everything in here is relatively new, except this dining table and chairs. What gives?" Jaz quizzed him when he sat back down.

Dalton went quiet for a minute and looked down at the table and ran his hand over it, "This was actually my Mom's table and chairs. Our childhood was far from perfect, but some of the few happy memories were of meals eaten around this table. My old man was getting rid of it, so I snatched it up and brought it here. It doesn't quite fit in with the décor, but it's the only thing I have of hers now."

Jaz looked down at the table like Dalton was doing and just ran her hand over the aged wood. It was kind of nice to think that this table had been around since Adam was a kid, and she ached for him at the childhood he alluded to. He had made small comments about it before, but this was another little piece to add to the puzzle.

"Maybe one day, _your_ kids will have this table too." Jaz said softly.

Dalton looked up at her. "Yeah maybe… if I ever go down that path."

They sat there for a few silent moments, without knowing they were both thinking about the same thing. Would people that came from childhoods like theirs, want their own family? Neither of them had given it much thought, but moments like these brought it to the forefront of their minds.

* * *

Jaz had gone to bed relatively early that night. She was tired and she still felt like she was catching up on sleep from deployment. Sure enough, as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.

Dalton had stayed up for another hour or so, reading on the couch, while Patton snored on his bed. Just as he was starting to turn out the lights and head to bed himself, he hear a small muffled noise come from Jaz's room.

He walked as quietly as he could towards her bedroom door and stood and listened for a minute. Nothing. But just as he started to walk away, he heard her cry out "No."

He stood there for a little bit longer until he heard her in a louder voice repeat, "No… No… No, no, no!" He knew she had nightmares. He also knew what it felt like to be held hostage in the middle of a nightmare, and without a second thought, he slowly opened her door and walked towards the bed.

Jaz was lying on her back, her long dark hair splayed around her, the covers kicked off, and still crying out.

Dalton walked right up to the side of the bed and softly called out her name. When that didn't work, he sat on the side of her bed and put one hand on her shoulder and called her name again.

His touch on her shoulder seemed to do it. Jaz suddenly sat bolt upright and grabbed the wrist of the hand that was resting on her shoulder, ready to take out the enemy.

"Hey, it's just me. You're safe, you're safe." Dalton spoke his words softly, but firmly. He repeated them again, until he could see Jaz's eyes start to clear and recognition set in, her hand still gripping his wrist.

"You're ok." He repeated again, and Jaz's eyes looked up at his as she removed her tight grip from his wrist.

"Sorry – I, um… bad dream." She managed to stutter out.

"Don't be sorry." He continued to speak to her gently, "Want to talk about it?"

Jaz held his gaze for another couple of seconds, before slowing lowering her eyes to her hands, now gripping the blankets.

"Nah, I'm ok." She responded quietly and with that Dalton lowered his grip on her shoulder, trailing his hand down her arm and letting it cover both her hands on her lap.

"You sure?"

She just nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed that he had to witness this. It wasn't that he didn't know she had nightmares. They all did from time to time in their line of work, Jaz more so than others after this last deployment. It also wasn't the first time that Dalton has woken her up from a nightmare. But she was embarrassed that this had happened whilst on leave, at only her second night at his cabin.

"Well then can I get you some tea or anything?"

"No it's ok, you should get some sleep, but thanks... for this." Jaz whispered as she kept her eyes lowered, his hand still covering hers.

"Ok, if you're sure." Dalton gave her hands a squeeze before removing it from hers and was relieved when she squeezed his back.

"Top…" Jaz called out as he walked towards the door. He turned back around to look at her, "Can we go fishing at some stage?"

"Fishing?" He looked at her quizzically.

"Yeah." She didn't offer anything else.

"Uh… sure. But try and get some sleep, yeah?"

Jaz just nodded at him again and lay her head back down on the pillow. She took some deep breaths and stared up at the ceiling. She wasn't sure if she could go back to sleep straight away, but she was exhausted and hoped sleep would overcome her again soon.

Dalton went into his bedroom and got himself ready for bed. He was still confused about the fishing comment. He didn't know Jaz liked fishing, but if it's something she wanted to try then he was all for it. He was happy to try and keep her busy while she was here, and fishing happened to be one of his favourite past times.

He just hoped she would be able to get some more sleep tonight.

* * *

Preach had always said Dalton could sleep through a jack hammer, but anything related to his job or someone he cared about and he would wake at the drop of a hat.

Two hours later, that's exactly what he did.

He woke suddenly, hearing restless cries coming from Jaz's room again. He got up, threw on a t-shirt and once again walked into her room slowly and carefully.

Her cries were much louder this time, "NO! Stay away from them, NO..."

This time Dalton put both of his hands on her shoulders and was prepared for her to fight him off again. It took a little longer to rouse her this time, but when she did come around, she once again sat bolt upright and nearly butted heads with Dalton.

Jaz's breathing was ragged and she was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Dalton changed his grip on her shoulders so he was holding her upper arms and whispering soothing comments, just like he had earlier.

Jaz didn't say anything. She was still caught up in a haze, trying to distinguish between her nightmare and reality. She tried to concentrate on taking deep breaths, and the strong hands gripping her arms.

As she started to calm down and her heart rate lowered, she couldn't believe it had happened again, on the same night.

They sit there, with the only light coming from the living room that Dalton had switched on when he got up to check on her. Jaz was still concentrating on her breathing and Dalton just ran his hands up and down her upper arms trying to soothe her.

"I'll get you a glass of water." He said and went to stand up.

Jaz quickly reached out and grasped his hand, as if afraid to be left alone.

"I'll just be a second." He responded as her put a hand on top of hers comfortingly, then walked into the kitchen.

When he returned, he handed it to her, turned on the lamp next to her and went and sat on the other side of the bed.

Jaz mumbled her thanks and took a long sip and with it, she could feel some of the tension leaving her body like a wave retreating from the sand. She took another couple of sips before turning to Dalton.

"Sorry I woke you up." She said so quietly he almost couldn't hear her.

Dalton looked back at her, his eyes showing concern that made her look away, "Same as before, you don't need to apologise, ever."

He was obviously concerned. Twice in one night, wasn't easy to cope with, and she looked exhausted again. These nightmares were taking their toll on her and he wondered how often she was still having them.

"Want to tell me what it was about?" Dalton ventured softly.

Jaz sat there for a few moments and thought about it. She wasn't sure was could tell Dalton what she dreamt about, especially as he featured in a lot of the nightmares and he had been in both of these most recent ones.

"Maybe some other time, I don't really want to talk about them right now." Jaz whispered, hoping he would understand.

"Well, whenever you're ready… If you want to." Dalton was still sitting next to her on the bed, and after a few more minutes sitting in silence, he went to stand up, figuring she might want to go back to sleep again, given it was only just after midnight.

As he went to stand, he heard her whisper, "Top?"

He stopped and looked at her. She had once again turned to look into his eyes.

"Do - do you think… you can stay… just until I fall asleep?" She whispered, barely audible.

He looked down into her big brown eyes and saw the plea in them. He nodded and whispered back to her, "Yeah, I can do that."

He instantly saw some relief in her eyes and saw her take another deep breath.

"I'll be back in a sec." With that, he got up off the bed, went and grabbed his book from his room and turned off the light in the living room.

He came back in and settled back on the other side of the bed with his book, "Do you mind if I read? I'll turn the lamp off when I leave." He asked.

"Brushing up on your astronomy tales?" Jaz tried to lighten the mood, but Dalton could see the brave front she was trying to put up by using humour, so he went along with it.

"Gotta get them down pat before our next lesson." He said with a smile, at which Jaz smiled back.

"Get some sleep Jaz, I'll be here."

Jaz smiled her thanks at him again, turned away and snuggled under the covers. Dalton opened up his book, where he had previously folded the corner down to hold his place, but before he started to read, he looked at the back of her head, with her long dark hair spilling over the pillow.

Dalton's heart ached for Jaz, and what she had been through on this last deployment. Despite all of Jaz's bravado, he knew that she had a big guard up around herself, and not many people get through that guard. Elijah had to a large extent, and the other guys have in their own ways, even Amir. But he wondered if any of them, will ever manage to completely tear through those walls she has up.

As he continues to stare at the back of her head, he couldn't help but hope that he could be that person. He just didn't know how.

* * *

The next morning, Jaz slowly started to feel herself waking up. Before opening her eyes, she snuggled into her pillow and enjoyed the feeling of comfort, warmth and safety that this bed gave her. It even _smelled_ comfortable.

She slowly started to blink open her eyes, against the sunshine in the room, and realised that her nose was pressed up against a strong shoulder. Her head was on her pillow, but as she became more aware of her surroundings, she realised that Dalton was lying on the pillow next to her, fast asleep.

He was lying on top of the covers, with his book sitting open on his stomach, his head facing her and she could feel his breath on her forehead. She also saw her left hand laying on his chest, gripping his t-shirt, and his right hand covered hers, holding on to her wrist.

No wonder the bed even smelled safe, it was Dalton's scent that she had awoken to. It was just… him. It was familiar, and it made her heart flutter.

As she was trying to decide what to do, she felt him start to stir and watched him as he went through the same realisation she had just gone through.

Dalton lay on his back as he felt himself wake up. He realised he was holding onto something with his right hand and as he opened his eyes, he noticed the hand he was gripping, the dark hair next to his shoulder and the big brown eyes that moved to look into his.

He'd fallen asleep in Jaz's room. It wasn't the sun shining into the room, the lamp was still on. And now here they were, holding hands.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep in here." Dalton mumbled while turning his head to look up at the ceiling.

Jaz was silent for a couple of moments before saying, "Well that's what books on astronomy will do to you."

He chuckled while still holding on to her hand and he appreciated her attempt to once again lighten the mood. He was waiting for the awkwardness to settle in, but it didn't.

He looked back down into her eyes, "Did you manage to get some sleep?"

She smiled softly at him, "Yeah I did. Thanks for staying with me."

They continued to look at each other for a few more moments, both a bit bewildered that this felt so comfortable. Studying each other's faces for any signs of discomfort, neither of them found any.

After a bit, Dalton let go of the grip he had on her wrist and sat up, "Coffee?" He asked her, even though he already knew the answer.

"Yeah, thanks." Jaz answered softly and watched him walk out of the room and into the kitchen to start the coffee. She just lay in bed for a few minutes longer, still not quite believing what had happened. Although the first half of her night had been interrupted, after Dalton had stayed with her, she slept deeply and soundly.

* * *

Dalton spent the day showing Jaz some of the hiking trails that he had told her about the previous day. They were vast and differed in difficulty level, not that the harder trails would be a problem for either of them. They were soldiers and were used to much tougher terrain than the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Jaz was caught up in the beauty of her surroundings. She loved the hiking, as she loved the feeling of euphoria that physical activity provided. She also loved seeing Top so passionate about where he lived, for part of the year anyway. She never had that feeling about New York.

She also loved just watching Dalton. Watching his strong arms as he pointed out land marks. Watching his eyes light up with amusement when he teased her about something. Watching his ass in his well fitted khaki's whenever he walked in front of her. In fact, it was sometimes difficult to keep her eyes off of him.

Dalton pointed out alternate trails as they explored and with the high level of spatial intelligence expected of them in the Special Forces, Jaz was able to map out the area in her head for future reference.

Dalton was happy to see Jaz enjoying herself and taking lots of photos along the way. He teased her about them all of course, but he even let her take some selfies of the two of them. When she looked this happy, he had trouble keeping his eyes off her. He liked the light in her eyes as she laughed, the curls of her hair that had come loose from her top knot, and the way her shapely legs and ass looked in her leggings.

They spent most of the day out, and all that fresh air had them suitably tired, including Patton.

After they showered, and had eaten the left over lasagne for dinner, they both sat on the back veranda with a beer, enjoying the relatively warm evening air.

"You still wanna do some fishing?" Dalton asked, remembering her request from last night.

Jaz gulped down her beer and looked down at her hands briefly before answering, "Yeah."

He waited to see if she said anything else, but when she didn't, he added, "Ok, I'll show you my favourite fishing spot tomorrow then."

Jaz just nodded at him with a small smile on her face, that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Dalton figured she must be tired after their day exploring. They could discuss fishing more in the morning.

On that note, they finished up their beers and decided to call it a night. Without knowing it, they were both remembering how they woke up that morning, and how comfortable it was. They lay in their respective beds, both reading a book, while both thinking of the person lying on the other side of their bedroom wall.

* * *

Jaz was still reading an hour later when she heard Dalton in the throes of a nightmare.

She could hear him calling out the names of their team mates, and hers was the last name he said, and then repeated.

She did exactly what he had done the night before and crept into his room to try and wake him and free him from the nightmare.

He was still calling out, "No… no… not Jaz. Jaz!" That made Jaz momentarily slow her approach, before thinking better of it and going to sit next to his prone body on the bed.

"Top… Top, wake up." She said soothingly, putting one hand on his chest. As if it was a reflex, he grabbed her hand and immediately woke up.

"Jaz?" he asked after a few seconds, checking it was really her.

"Yeah it's me." Jaz responded softly, keeping her hand on his chest, "You ok?"

Dalton took a few more seconds to take some deep breaths and then responded, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for waking me up."

"Just returning the favour." Jaz replied simply.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, not speaking, just appreciating their current reality over the one in their nightmares.

Dalton thanked her again and told her to go and get some sleep, so Jaz reluctantly moved her hand away from his chest, said goodnight again, and then went back to her room.

They once again, both lay in their beds, thinking about the other.

Jaz knew they all had nightmares, but hearing Top having them was always hard. He was their Captain, their CO. He was a master tactician and the one they all looked to for leadership and guidance. But hearing him have nightmares, also made him human.

Dalton was annoyed at the nightmare he had just had, and that Jaz had heard and had to wake him up. He's not ashamed of the nightmares, they all had them, but he didn't want her to have to look after him. He wanted to do that for her. He thought about it for a bit longer, but exhaustion eventually took over and he fell back asleep.

Jaz was still wide awake on the other side of the wall. Hearing Dalton call out her name in his nightmare had all sorts of questions going through her head, and she was worried about having a nightmare of her own.

She couldn't stop thinking about how comfortable and safe she had felt when she woke this morning to Dalton lying by her side. She craved that feeling again and the warmth it provided. But she could hardly wake him up and ask him to come and sleep next to her again.

After another half an hour of staring at the ceiling and thinking through her options to get any sort of sleep that night, she decided to put her ninja skills to good use.

As quietly as she could, she got up and crept into Dalton's room. She ascertained by his deep breathing that he was fast asleep, so trying not to wake him, she pulled back the covers on the opposite side to him and crawled into bed.

She was immediately overwhelmed by the instant comfort it gave her to just breathe in his scent. She didn't touch him at all, she just curled up facing away from him and let the warmth of his body heat wash over her.

All of a sudden she felt him stir and she held her breath, waiting for him to notice her in the bed. What he actually did startled her sightly. He rolled over so he was spooned against her back and put one arm around her waist and pulled her close.

She didn't move a muscle, but figured out by the continual deep breathing, that he was still asleep.

Jaz started to relax again. She would try and wake before him in the morning, so she could slip back into her own bed and he would never know she was there.

For now though, she was going to enjoy the comfort that Top provided. And how amazing it felt to have his arm around her, holding her tight to his chest.

This felt so natural.

With that thought, she drifted off and joined Dalton in slumber, both sleeping deeply and dreamlessly and curled around each other.

* * *

 **What do you think? I would love to know :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**I was going to wait until the weekend to post this chapter, but what the hell, live dangerously right?!**

 **This will start to get slightly more mature from here on out. Not too full on just yet though.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

In the very early hours of the morning, long before the sun was up, Dalton stirred in his sleep.

Before he even opened his eyes, he found himself warm, comfortable and feeling at peace. As he become slightly more aware of his surroundings and slowly blinked his eyes open, he noticed the long dark hair with an apple scent that his nose was buried in, followed by the small, warm body he was curled around.

Through his sleepy fog, he somehow managed to process that it was Jaz he was curled up to. He didn't know how it had happened, or when it had happened, but he did know that he was too comfortable at the moment to move. This could all be a dream after all, he was still half asleep and if this _was_ a dream, he didn't want to wake up from it just yet.

It was too early to think too much into this, and with that thought, he pulled Jaz a bit closer, closed his eyes and drifted off back to sleep.

* * *

Jaz woke just as the sun was starting to rise.

It took her a few moments to blink her eyes awake and as she did, she was immediately aware of how content and comfortable she was feeling.

After a few more moments, she remembered why.

She was still in the same position that she had fallen asleep in, and Dalton's arm was still wrapped around her, clutching her to his hard chest. As she woke a little more and the morning fog cleared, she also became aware of another part of his anatomy, pressed up to her that was, uh… hard.

She had lived with men long enough to know that this was a normal morning occurrence, but Jaz's eyes still widened slightly, she felt a flush all over her body, and felt a stirring deep down within herself.

Jaz tried to ignore it and after laying there just a bit longer, she knew she should get back to her own room before Dalton woke up and this became awkward. Once again using her best ninja skills, she managed to slowly and carefully unwrap Dalton's arm from around her and slip out of the covers.

Jaz stopped momentarily to look at Dalton sleeping. He was breathing deeply and a wave of appreciation for this beautiful man washed over her. How she got so lucky to have Adam Dalton in her life, she didn't know, but she was extremely thankful for him.

With that, she crept out of his room and back into her own. She knew she wouldn't go back to sleep so decided to have a shower and start the coffee and breakfast. Dalton didn't sleep late, so she knew he would be stirring with the next hour.

* * *

The smell of bacon cooking is what woke Dalton up an hour later. As he once again blinked his eyes slowly open, he vaguely remembered being curled around a warm body.

Or had that been a dream?

He spent the next minute just lying there and waking up properly, trying to determine if it had been a dream or reality. The bed was empty next to him, and he thought that maybe it had all been just wishful thinking. Then he turned his head to the side and the scent of apples wafted in the air. He leaned his head further over to the other side of the bed and smelt the pillow. Definitely apples. That was Jaz's shampoo.

It hadn't been a dream.

He didn't remember her getting into bed with him, or getting out of bed, but he now knew the recollection he had of her being there, wrapped in his arms _was_ real.

Dalton thought it over for a couple of minutes. Jaz had obviously snuck out before he woke, purposely. He wouldn't ask her about it for now because he didn't want to embarrass her. He'll just see how it played out.

For now, the smell of bacon was making his stomach growl, so he threw a t-shirt on and headed out to the kitchen.

"Morning. You're up early, couldn't sleep?" Dalton couldn't resist asking.

Jaz looked up from the bacon she was frying, before quickly looking down again "I actually slept really well."

Dalton waited to see if she added anything else. When she didn't he continued, "Good, I'm glad."

Jaz didn't respond, she engrossed herself in cooking the bacon instead. Just as she was having an internal battle, trying to decide whether to confess where she spent the night or not, both of their phones buzzed on the kitchen table.

It was Amir on their group chat and Jaz had never been so grateful to him.

Jaz plated up their breakfast, along with two cups of coffee before checking her phone and seeing the conversation that had already started.

 _ **Flying back to DC in two days :)**_ – Amir

 _ **Your cook give you some new recipes?**_ – McG

 _ **Yes, actually**_ – Amir

 _ **Shot gun being the first to try them**_ \- McG

Jaz and Dalton both silently shook their heads at McG's message.

 _ **Pig**_ – Jaz

 _ **I doubt it, Amir doesn't eat pork, Jazzy ;)**_ – McG

Jaz rolled her eyes and Dalton looked up and grinned at her.

 _ **Dick**_ – Jaz

 _ **I miss you too**_ \- McG

 _ **Actually, Top might be first to try them, if he doesn't mind me stopping by in a week or so**_ \- Amir

Dalton and Jaz looked up at each other when they read that. The others didn't know that Jaz was also in The Blue Ridge Mountains yet.

Dalton raised his eyebrows at Jaz and she just shrugged her shoulders. He still had no idea how long Jaz was going to be at the cabin, and he had encouraged the others to come and visit.

They didn't have anything to hide. Did they?

Jaz spoke first, "Amir should come, he'd love it out here, and you've got the room."

"You'll still be here then?" Dalton broached.

"Oh, I'm definitely going to hang around for his cooking, just to rub it in McG's face." Jaz smirked, then continued, "If that's ok?"

"I said you could stay for as long as you want, I meant it, but you can tell them that you're here."

Jaz waved her phone at him, "Already on it."

 _ **You're on the couch, I already set up camp in the second bedroom**_ –Jaz

 _ **Wait, there's two bedrooms? I thought it was rustic?**_ –McG

Jaz held up her hands to Dalton, and he just rolled his eyes. Apparently they all assumed their mountain man lived in some sort of a cave.

 _ **Hang on, Jaz you're at the cabin?**_ – McG

 _ **Yeah, Patton missed me**_ – Jaz

 _ **Sure it's ok, Top?**_ – Amir

 _ **The more the merrier**_ – Dalton

 _ **I'm feeling left out, I need to get myself over there**_ – McG

 _ **Your Mom sick of you already?**_ – Jaz

 _ **Never. Jaz you're really in the mountains?**_ – McG

Jaz glanced up at Dalton quickly, who had resumed eating his breakfast. She sent one of the selfie's of the two of them that she had taken the day before. He wouldn't mind… hopefully.

 _ **Emoji's and selfies? WTF, Top?**_ – McG

Dalton checked his phone and just looked up at Jaz, "Really?" he asked dryly.

Jaz laughed out loud. Her deep throaty laughter. The kind of laughter that lights up her whole face and makes her eyes sparkle. The kind of laughter that Dalton can't look away from. If sending emoji's and taking selfies can make her this happy, he will gladly continue doing so.

 _ **Whatevs**_ – Top

 _ **Holy fuck, you've lost it!**_ – McG

And that made both Jaz and Dalton really lose it, both of them laughing almost uncontrollably, while still sitting surrounded by their half-eaten breakfast. McG was so easy to tease, part of the reason they loved him so much.

They were finally able to calm themselves down, and Dalton told Amir just to keep him updated with his plans. As he was clearing the breakfast plates away, Dalton once again thought about Jaz sleeping in his bed. Neither of them had acknowledged it, Jaz still didn't know that Dalton knew, and that's the way he was going to leave it for now. Just play it out and see what happens. But remembering how she felt in his arms… that was something his mind couldn't let go of just yet.

Dalton felt his phone buzz in his pocket. When he checked, it was a message just to him.

 _ **Nice selfie ;)**_ – Preach

Oh boy, he was never going to live this one down.

* * *

It was shaping up to be a hot and humid day. Dalton spent an hour clearing a lot of dried leaves and branches away from the cabin, while Jaz played with Patton and tested out the new commands Top had taught him.

She was impressed. Patton could actually sit, drop, roll and shake hands. Of course he liked a treat after every command, but at least Dalton had actually managed to get somewhere with him.

Dalton kept looking over at the two of them. He couldn't deny that he really liked having the both of them there.

Once he was finished clearing, he went and sat down next to Jaz and asked her what she wanted to do that day. "We could go and do some fishing like you asked? Or we could leave that for another day and I could show you this waterhole not too far away..?"

"Is the waterhole safe for swimming? That seems perfect for a day like today." Jaz turned towards him and asked.

"Did you bring something to swim in?" Dalton questioned.

Jaz just looked at him before raising her eyebrows and smiling slightly, "Maybe." And with that she headed inside to get changed and ready to go.

Dalton sat there puzzled for a second. Did Jaz just flirt with him? He had no idea, so he just shook his head and went inside to get some stuff together.

He gathered his swimming gear, towels, a book, sunscreen, bug spray, drinks and some food for lunch.

Jaz came out of her room dressed in a tank top & denim shorts. She had also packed a book and her phone of course to take some photos.

It was about a half an hour walk to the waterhole. Patton trotted along next to them as they walked the dirt track. Dalton continued to point things out to Jaz along the way, and once again she snapped away on her phone, taking loads of pictures of flowers, trees and bugs. Big bugs!

Her best photo though, was when they rounded the last corner and there in front of them was a large, inviting waterhole, with not another person in sight. Its water shimmered a deep blue in colour and it was surrounded by large rocks and a smaller grassy area that was shaded from large overhanging rocks and trees.

Jaz stopped still from the sheer beauty of her surrounds and she took several photos before they set their gear down on the grass.

The heat had increased even more by then, and they were both eager to dive in.

Dalton was glad he had sunglasses on when Jaz took off her tank top and shorts. The black one piece that Jaz wore, clung to every curve of her body and accentuated her femininity in all the right areas. The areas that are all too often hidden under their army uniforms. He couldn't take his eyes off her, and as she applied sunscreen to her arms and legs, he knew he needed to get into that cold water… Now!

After stripping off his t-shirt and sunglasses, he ran towards the rocky edge of the water hole, turning to yell over his shoulder, "Last one in cooks dinner!" and then leapt off the side of a rock, bombing into the cool and refreshing water. It was a welcome relief for several reasons.

Jaz casually walked over to the same rocky section before chastising him "You don't play fair, and as if you'd let me use the barbeque anyway."

"Good point." Dalton grinned at her before Jaz very gracefully dived off the rock into the water and surfaced about a metre away from him.

They both heard another splash and turned around to see Patton had also jumped off the same rock and was swimming towards them.

"He swims too?" Jaz asked, laughing as Patton approached them.

"Told you he'd learnt a few new tricks." Dalton gave Patton a big scratch, before pointing the dog in the direction of the grassed area that he would be able to climb out of.

The water felt like heaven for the both of them after the hot and sweaty walk in the heat. They both lay on their backs and let their bodies float, buoyed by the water.

Jaz let the calmness of the water wash over her. Lying there, she knew she had made the right decision to leave New York behind her. This part of the country was beautiful, and didn't hold any bad memories for her. She should've known better than to ever go back to New York. A part of her was angry that she had wasted ten days of her leave in the city, but that couldn't be changed now. For now, she was just going to enjoy her current surroundings and play it day by day.

As she closed her eyes still lost in thought, she felt a splash of water cover her face. She pulled herself up, spluttering and coughing away the water and caught Dalton laughing, clearly amused at his own actions. Just as she cleared the last bits of water from her eyes, he splashed her again.

"Right, that's it!" Jaz exclaimed as she quickly made her way to him through the water.

Dalton tried to get away, but Jaz's small figure was fast through the water and she lunged at him, grabbed on to his shoulders and tried to dunk him.

While Jaz was fast and strong, her strength didn't compare to his. He twisted when he felt her hands on his shoulders so that he was facing her and managed to dunk her under the water instead.

She came up spluttering once again, wiping the water from her eyes and since she couldn't touch the bottom at this depth, she treaded water and blindly reached out for something to hold on to while clearing her eyes. It took her a few more seconds to realise that she had grabbed onto Dalton's shoulders.

He quickly put an arm around her waist to steady her as he was tall enough to stand at this point.

"Sorry." He tried to say while holding his laughter back.

"No you're not." Jaz managed to splutter and he laughed out loud in agreeance.

As Jaz managed to stop coughing and Dalton stopped laughing, they both realised how close in proximity they were. Both of Jaz's hands were still on Dalton's shoulders and they were now face to face, looking into each other's eyes.

They held each other's gaze for a long moment and Jaz couldn't resist glancing down quickly at his lips. That full bottom lip of his that she had thought about more than once, that she often watched while he talked, was tantalisingly close. She wondered what it would feel like on her lips. Wondered if it would be soft like his beard.

While she was still looking at his lips, Dalton took a moment to appreciate how close their bodies were. Jaz still couldn't touch the bottom so his arm was still around her waist with his hand resting firmly on her lower back. Her whole body was pressed up against him. Her breasts were flattened against his chest and her hips were pressed up against his. Dalton could feel the stirrings in his groin that he had tried to escape only minutes before.

When Jaz looked back up into his eyes, he could see the same desire reflected in her own. Having her this close to him, particularly in that swimsuit had all sorts of scenarios playing out in his head. It would be so easy to lean forward and capture her lips with his. It's what he wanted to do. He wants to know how she tastes.

They both had an internal battle going on, whilst not taking their eyes off each other. They were both very aware of the line they weren't supposed to cross, but they were both struggling with their want for each other.

Jaz leaned a fraction closer to him and whispered slowly, "We can't do this…" she paused slightly to look down at his lips again, "… can we?"

Dalton's chest was heaving, and his hand on her lower back pressed her fractionally closer to him. She was close enough to feel the stirrings of his groin against her hips, and she remembered feeling him pressed up against her back when she woke up in bed this morning. She desperately wanted to press back against him to satisfy the ache within herself.

Looking deep into Jaz's eyes, and trying to think rationally at the same time was proving extremely difficult. He wanted to kiss her so badly. He wanted to do so much more than kiss her. They had been close before, but never this close and it would be so easy to give in to this.

He moved even closer, now looking down at Jaz's lips and opened his mouth to answer her, "We… UGH!"

All of a sudden they were both covered in a massive splash of water! They broke apart and instinct had them searching for any threats, but they both saw Patton right next to them, looking very happy with himself having jumped off the same rock as earlier.

They couldn't help but laugh at Patton before looking at each other nervously.

"He sure has learnt some new tricks." Jaz tried to say light-heartedly, but not quite meeting Dalton's eyes.

"It would seem so." Dalton replied, noticing Jaz's slight discomfort, so he continued with, "Let's go and have some lunch, I packed beers too."

"A beer would be great!" Jaz exclaimed before swimming off towards the grassy area.

Dalton stayed in the water another couple of minutes, just until the remnants of their little interlude was back under control. He took some deep breaths and vowed just to carry on as normal. He didn't want Jaz running away on him. And if things got awkward, that's exactly what she would do.

* * *

They didn't speak much while they ate the chicken and salad Dalton had packed for lunch and enjoyed a nice cold beer. Both their minds were still on what had nearly happened in the water, and they were avoiding meeting each other's eyes.

Once they had finished, Jaz lay down on her towel to feign having a nap, but she actually ended up falling asleep, the heat having caught up with her.

Dalton opened his book and tried to read, but his eyes kept getting pulled back to Jaz, as if she were magnetic. He could hear her slow steady breaths and knew she had fallen sleep. He was slightly relieved and took the opportunity to wonder what the hell had happened in the water.

He couldn't deny his attraction to her. His body's carnal reactions to her spoke for itself. But it was more than just a physical attraction. It always had been.

On their team, they had hit it off from day one. Their mutual respect for each other made working together a dream. Sure they disagreed sometimes, and Dalton appreciated that she wasn't afraid to tell him when she thought he was wrong. She had spunk. But they generally teamed up on operations because their ability to work in tandem instinctively was so seamless, so natural. He liked that she challenged him, but he also knew that she trusted him. And he trusted her implicitly.

But did he trust himself? Did he trust that he wouldn't cross that line with her? All he knew right now was that it was getting harder and harder… in more ways than one!

As he continued to watch her, his thoughts got side tracked a little as he started to notice her shaking her head from side to side. She was lying on her stomach with her arms folded up underneath her head like a pillow. The shaking of her head became more prominent and all of a sudden she let out a loud cry of "NO!" before waking violently and pushing herself up into a kneeling position.

Dalton shot over to her and kneeled in front of her, noticing the tears streaming down her cheeks and her body shaking violently with sobs.

'Jaz… hey, you're ok. I'm here, it was just a dream." He tried soothing her, but she continued to shake with the aftermath of the nightmare and his immense concern for her had him wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his chest to try and calm her.

"I got you, I got you, you're alright." Dalton whispered over and over as one of his hands held on tight around her back, while the other calmly stroked her hair.

As he continued to hold her close, the shaking of her body began to slowly abate, and he felt her hands come up and cling to his back. He heard her ragged breathing start to even out and she visibly relaxed so her face was resting in the crook of his neck.

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes until Jaz's breathing was back to normal and her body's waves of convulsions had all but disappeared.

Once Dalton was satisfied that she had regained her composure he pulled back and placed both his hands on her cheeks. Her looked into her tear filled eyes and used his thumbs to gently wipe away the tracks of tears on her cheeks.

"Talk to me." He murmured softly to her, concern shining in his eyes.

Jaz knew she had to give him something. It was the third nightmare he had calmed her down from in just a couple of days and they were starting to take their toll on her.

"I – I… uh, I dreamt about Elijah, and you and Hossein all getting shot." She stammered, barely audibly.

Dalton kept his hands on her cheeks and questioned her "By the Quds?"

Jaz slowly shook her head, eyes lowering from his as she whispered, "No, by my father."

Dalton inhaled deeply, looking perfectly calm on the outside, but with a rage burning inside of him. As her Captain, he knew parts of her background that no one else on the team did, but he had absolutely no doubt that it went much deeper than what is actually in Jaz's file.

"Is he always in your nightmares?" Dalton probed, still keeping his voice very soft so as not to upset her even more.

"Not for years," Jaz answered, her eyes still lowered, "Not until I went back to New York."

And that answered Dalton's question as to why she had left New York so soon.

That son-of-a-bitch father of hers still affected her, even by just being in the same city. What he wouldn't give to have 5 minutes alone with him. He needed to reign in that anger for now though, Jaz didn't need to see it at the moment.

Instead he tilted her head so she was looking back into his eyes, "You did the right thing by leaving New York." He assured her quietly.

Jaz held his gaze and slowly nodded her head, "Yeah," she agreed.

She knew he was right. It was the exact reason she had left after all, but it still pissed her off that her father invaded her nightmares once again, even after leaving New York behind. She didn't usually let people see her this vulnerable, but she had been caught unawares and she actually felt a bit of relief after revealing this particular nightmare to Adam.

 _Adam._

When did he become Adam in her head?

She was shaken out of her reverie by a cold wet nose on her arm. And looked down to see Patton nudging her, as if knowing she needed a little attention and affection.

Dalton removed his hands from her cheeks, slid them slowly down her arms and grabbed her hands in his. He looked her in her eyes again with a questioning gaze and she just smiled softly and nodded back at him, understanding that he was silently checking if she was ok, just another example of them not always needing words to communicate.

Patton continued to nudge Jaz and she laughed softly down at him. "I think he wants another swim."

"Just wants to show off, more like it." Dalton retorted. But he pulled Jaz to her feet, kept one of her hands in his and led her to the rocks to jump off, with a very eager Patton trotting along behind them.

"Biggest bomb gets out of doing the dishes." He challenged.

"You have a dishwasher!"

Dalton turned to look at her and with a big grin on his face and his hand still wrapped around hers, he started to run so that they both jumped into the cool water at the same time.

"Whatevs!" He yelled as they were airborne, and Jaz couldn't help but laugh as the water swallowed them up. He never failed to put a smile on her face.

* * *

Dalton cooked their dinner on the barbeque that evening and since it was still warm, they sat on the back veranda, drinking beer and looking at the stars.

They sat in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.

Jaz was thinking about her nightmares, and how much they drained her. On base she could compartmentalise them because that's what she was trained to do. Their missions kept them busy and kept her mind off them, but on leave, it wasn't that easy. They were mentally exhausting.

Dalton was thinking about _both_ their nightmares. It hadn't escaped him that the last two nights they had ended up falling asleep next to each other, and after that, those sleeps had been nightmare free. Seeing Jaz have a nightmare in the middle of the day had shaken him. He wished he knew how to help her, but all he could think of was just to be there for her and comfort her, however he could.

Their heated moment in the waterhole hadn't been forgotten, in fact it played on both their minds, and replayed in their minds. Vividly. Their attraction to each other was undeniable, and they weren't doing a great job of denying it to themselves. Denying it to each other was another thing and if Preach could see them, he would be frustrated with them both.

After finishing her beer, Jaz looked over at Dalton and said lazily "I think I'm calling it a night."

She gathered up some empty beer bottles to take inside with her. Dalton watched, internally battling with whether to offer up a plan he had been thinking about. That morning he had decided he wasn't going to bring it up, but after her nightmare at lunch time, he couldn't not. It could be asking for trouble, and that clear line that was supposed to be between them, could become very murky, but he cared more about Jaz's welfare than that damn line at the moment.

"Jaz?" He stopped her, and she turned around to face him. He continued very gently and purposely, "If you have trouble sleeping tonight, it's ok if you want to come and sleep next to me again."

Jaz's eyes slowly widened and she opened her mouth to say something before closing it up again. After another beat she opened her mouth again and tried to respond.

"You… uh, you…?" And she just closed her mouth again in resigned acceptance and glanced down at the floor. She didn't need to continue.

Of course he knew.

"Thanks." She whispered in response and lifted her eyes to smile softly at him, before making her way inside to bed.

Dalton smiled softly after her and turned his attention back to finishing his beer and gazing at the stars. He felt like he had made a little bit of headway with Jaz today, and that made him slightly relieved.

About an hour later, Dalton was sitting reading in bed with his lamp on when he heard a soft knock at the door, "Yeah?" He asked.

The door opened slowly to reveal Jaz standing there in her sleeping shorts and a tank top. She had a book in her hand and was biting her lip with a look of questioning on her face.

Dalton leant over and pulled the covers back on the opposite side of the bed before turning back to look at her.

A slow and grateful smile spread across Jaz's face. She walked around to the other side of the bed, hopped under the covers and after another quick smile at him, opened her book and started to read.

Dalton tried to nonchalantly go back to reading his own book but couldn't help think that if Preach could see them now, he'd be planning their wedding!

* * *

 **Please let me know what you think! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's the next chapter for you all. Enjoy!**

 **I don't own The Brave of any of it's characters - but I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

For the next couple of days, Dalton and Jaz started each day early, or early-ish in Jaz's case. They went on a hike each day, did odd jobs around the cabin and of course, played with Patton.

They made meals together, read together, made s'mores together and watched the stars together.

Each night they slept together.

Well they slept _next_ to each other.

Although they mostly fell sleep facing away from each other, during the night they often found themselves curled around each other, touching hands, or with Jaz's head resting on Dalton's chest and his arm wrapped around her.

They haven't rationalised or acknowledged this new development. They hadn't discussed being in each other's arms throughout the night. They hadn't spoken further of the content of their nightmares, but since choosing to spend each night in the same bed, they had both been nightmare free.

They also haven't yet acknowledged their sexually charged moment in the waterhole a few days ago, but neither of them has forgotten. How could they?

They both still spent much of the days appreciating the other, perving on the other and trying to deny any feelings toward each other, but Jaz knew this was absolutely the best place for her to have ended up. The ease of her relationship with Dalton, and the peacefulness of the surroundings, made her start to relax like she had never done before.

On the third morning they decided to try that fishing that Jaz had asked about a few days earlier. Dalton knew a few great spots to try out from his vast fishing experience. It had been a favourite past time of his for as long as he could remember and it's one of the things he looks forward to the most whenever he is on leave.

Jaz had never been fishing before, but she knew Dalton would be a great teacher.

He had dug out all his gear and they walked out to one of his favourite spots, the lake almost right in front of his cabin. This lake was one of the main reasons he had kept the cabin all these years, and the small jetty made it just so convenient to indulge this past time. The other fishing spots needed to be hiked to, so he'll save them for another day.

* * *

It was another hot and beautiful day to sit down at the lake and learn how to fish. They both wore sunglasses and hats and they had taken a cool box with snacks and water down to the jetty also.

Just as Jaz suspected, Dalton was great at teaching Jaz the ins and outs of fishing. Being a quick student to most things, Jaz had the baiting and casting pretty down pat after a couple of attempts.

They both sat with their feet hanging off the jetty, fishing rods in front of them while they waited for something to bite.

The part of Jaz that often makes it hard for her to wind down or relax, found the waiting hard.

"Are you sure we used the right bait?" Jaz questioned Dalton after waiting for about 15 minutes, with no results.

"Positive, I've been doing this a long time." Dalton responded.

"How long?" Jaz probed.

Dalton tried to recall his earliest memory of fishing, but he couldn't pin point it, "As long as I can remember."

He sat there thinking for a little longer before offering, "My Dad used to take me fishing when I was a kid."

Jaz turned to look at him since he very rarely talked about his father, or any of his family for that matter. They had that in common.

Dalton stared over the lake while he continued almost wistfully, "It would just be the two of us. He taught me how to bait and cast the rod, just like I showed you. He taught me how to reel them in, even the big ones. He taught me how to be patient, especially when the fish weren't biting."

Jaz smiled softly at his memories. Even though he had previously alluded to his childhood being far from perfect, she envied these happy memories he had of his father, regardless of how he felt about the man now. She didn't have one single positive memory of her own father. Not one.

"Does it always take this long for the fish to take the bait?" Jaz asked.

"It's been barely 15 minutes, you have to be patient." Dalton stated.

"Right." Jaz hesitantly accepted ruefully.

Dalton smirked, "Sometimes - …"

"… all you can do, is wait..?" Jaz cut in and finished off for him.

Dalton grinned, "That's right.

She rolled her eyes at him but flashed him a grin too. She'd heard it from him before.

About half an hour later, there were still no fish biting and Dalton could see Jaz starting to get fidgety. He wasn't surprised. They were cut from the same cloth. When they were on base, neither of them were the type to just sit around, idly passing time. They both had to be doing something.

The difference between them was that on leave, Dalton didn't have a problem with living a slower existence. He enjoyed it and it was how he recharged his batteries for the next deployment. Jaz obviously wasn't quite there yet. She still found it hard to switch off, or to wait.

He thought about the first time she had mentioned fishing to him. It had been after her first nightmare at the cabin. He frowned remembering the strange timing of the question, and given the lack of actual fishing they were doing, thought it might be a good time to ask her about it.

"Hey Jaz?" He broached.

"Hmm?" Jaz was glad for the distraction and looked straight at Dalton.

"Why the sudden interest in fishing since you've been here?" Dalton quizzed.

Jaz averted her gaze at the question and went back to staring across the lake, "What do you mean?" she asked after a beat.

Dalton used the hand actions he so commonly does as he tries to explain himself, "Well it's just, I've known you for over three years, and you've never once mentioned fishing."

When Jaz didn't respond he spoke more softly, "I mean, I'm more than happy to share this with you, I love fishing. I'm just surprised."

Jaz still didn't respond, she just kept staring out over the lake with glazed eyes. He frowned slightly, not knowing how to react to her silence. Then he remembered the nightmare after which she had asked to go fishing, and he sat in thought for a moment longer.

"What was the nightmare about, Jaz?" He asked very gently.

She just turned and gave him a questioning look, so he continued, "Right before you asked me to go fishing, you had a nightmare…"

Jaz kept her head faced in his direction, but lowered her eyes and chin so she was staring down at the jetty.

After a minute or so, when she still didn't offer him a response he put his right hand under her chin and tilted it up to look at him. He was slightly taken aback by the depth of sadness in her eyes.

"Jaz," he breathed out pleadingly, willing her to talk to him.

Jaz had a tornado of feelings whirling through her. Guilt, despair, sadness, to name a few. She knew she had to tell Dalton, he was the only person she ever felt even remotely comfortable talking to about topics like this, but this one was tough. Still, if she ever wanted to try and get past some of this, at least as much as she could, she knew she had to start talking.

"Hossein." She said so quietly he barely heard her.

"Hossein?" He needed to confirm.

She nodded slightly, Dalton's hand still under her chin.

She continued in no louder than a whisper, "It's my fault he died, it's my fault you lost your friend…"

"Jaz…" Dalton tried to interject.

"… It's my fault you never got to take that fishing trip." She finished up and as she did, the tears that had been welling in her eyes, streamed down her face.

Understanding dawned on Dalton just then. It suddenly all made sense. Jaz had been in the room with them in Iran when he and Hossein had reunited after several years. She was there when they discussed getting around to a previously spoken about fishing trip one day. That's why she wanted to go fishing, to make up for Dalton not being able to fish with Hossein.

"Jaz…" He started again, but before he could say anymore, she jumped to her feet and walked quickly back up the jetty, "Jaz…" He called out after her, but she kept walking all the way back to the cabin, leaving Dalton there looking after her.

* * *

Jaz kept walking until she was back in her bedroom. She thought she could talk to Dalton about this, but as soon as she had started speaking, the guilt she had been feeling multiplied a million times over.

Walking away was the only way to hide her feelings. It always had been, so as not to make her seem vulnerable in front of anyone. She had already been vulnerable in front of Dalton a few days ago at the waterhole. She didn't want it to become a regular occurrence.

She lay down on the bed, the one she hadn't slept in for the last 4 nights and let the tears that were still streaming down her face be absorbed by the pillow.

She felt ridiculous. She wasn't this girl. She wasn't the one who cried at the drop of a hat, or felt sorry for herself. She wasn't the girl who stormed off and created drama. She wasn't the girl who dwelled on the past.

But as she lay there, she also realised that prior to joining this team, she had never been the girl who had people to care about her, or that she cared about in return. That was different now. It had started with Elijah, and continued with Top, McG, Preach and now Amir.

While still trying to make sense of her reaction to this situation, she realised if she wanted any sort of liveable and peaceful future, it was the past she was going to have to deal with.

That involved putting on her big girl pants and going back out there to talk it through with Top.

She waited another 5 minutes, trying to get her emotions and tears under control.

She went to the fridge and got a couple of beers out, walked out of the cabin and back down the jetty to where Top still sat, both fishing rods still having no luck.

* * *

Dalton had purposely not followed Jaz into the cabin. He knew when she needed her space, and he would respect that. He just wished he knew how to take her guilt away.

He sat there looking out over the lake for a few more minutes and hoped he might be more successful in talking to her later on. He didn't want to leave things like that.

As he went to pick up his fishing rod to see if the hook had any bait left on it, a beer suddenly appeared in front of his face and he jumped, nearly dropping the rod into the lake.

He turned around to see Jaz looking down at him.

"Damn it Jaz, you're like a ninja, you know that?" he exclaimed.

"I'm insulted that _you_ don't know that by now." She smirked back to him, as she returned to her sitting position next to him on the jetty.

After taking a couple of sips of their beers in silence, Jaz turned to Dalton and said "I'm sorry… for walking off like that."

Dalton turned to her, "You don't have to be sorry, I just wish you would talk to me."

She glanced down quickly and then looked over to him, "Tell me about him, about Hossein."

"Jaz we don't have to..." he started to reply.

Jaz calmly spoke over the top of him, "I want to."

Dalton stared at her a few more seconds and could see that she had gathered herself from earlier and nodded to her.

Dalton starts to tell Jaz that he and Hossein first met in the field years ago when he was in Delta Force and Hossein in the Iranian Army. It was not long after his daughter had been captured, tortured and killed by the Quds. Hossein had been angry and was doing whatever he could to get revenge, but wasn't going about it the right way. Dalton had recognised the fire within Hossein that made him want to fight for justice, and in a way that only Dalton could, he managed to convince Hossein to do it in the right way. In a way that wouldn't have the Quds making him their next target.

After Hossein had decided he had enough of the army, he became an asset and helped wherever he could. Dalton had called upon his intelligence several times over the years, and Hossein always came through for him. They spent a lot of time running surveillance and they found themselves as not just allies, but friends.

Jaz listened intently as Dalton spoke. She knew bits and piece about Hossein, but it was interesting to hear the whole story from Dalton.

Dalton looked out over the lake as he continued, "He knew more than any of us about what the Quds would have done to you, what the interrogators would have done to you, if we couldn't get you out. It was actually the first thing he was concerned about when he saw you were on my team."

Jaz frowned and remembered the two of them chatting and looking over at her in Tehran. She had assumed that Hossein didn't approve of a woman soldier, like so many she had come across before. It warmed her knowing that hadn't been the case and she smiled slightly at the thought.

Dalton paused and looked over at Jaz, not sure how much further to go with this. Any further could start to incriminate him and his feelings. But given Jaz was trying to face this full on, he knew he had to also.

He took a deep breath and continued, "Hossein knew I was not going to leave without getting you out. I was not leaving, it was never an option. After he realised that, he was all in. We all knew the risks going in to these situations and Hossein more than others on that particular one."

Jaz kept listening, a depth of feelings overwhelming her.

"Helping us get out of the country, saving our lives and taking out a few Quds in the process was his own redemption for feeling like he failed his daughter. It was his revenge. He lost his life that day, but he saved five lives in the process, our five lives. Let's not forget that about him, let's not take that away from him. He died a hero, and while only a handful of us know that, it doesn't change his sacrifice. Without him, none of us would be here today."

He looked over at Jaz for the next part, "You and I, wouldn't be here today."

Jaz looked back at him, into those blue eyes that she couldn't look away from before he continued.

"Knowing Hossein the way I did, saving us would have made him the happiest. You being my friend, made you his friend too, and knowing he died while protecting his friends would have given him some peace. Hossein was a good man, a good friend and I miss him. We mourn him, but we also honour and remember him."

They both sat in silence for a few moments, looking back over the lake, thinking over what Dalton had just said and remembering Hossein as the hero he was.

"I wish I could thank him." Jaz confessed very quietly after a little while.

Dalton looked at her again, "You can, by continuing to live your life. He lived his with honour and integrity and we should too; Making the most out of it and never taking it for granted."

Jaz nodded slowly, still lost in thought. She wasn't sure if the nightmares would ever end, but hearing Top talk like this about the kind of man she had suspected Hossein to be, gave her some sort of peace.

Dalton interrupted her thoughts by holding his beer up to her.

"To Hossein." He said reverently.

"To Hossein." She replied, just as reverently.

* * *

Their first fishing attempt hadn't gone the way either of them had thought it would, so they decided to pack it in and try again another day.

They had decided to go into town for dinner that night. Dalton knew a good bar that did great steak apparently. Jaz was happy to eat anything and was looking forward to going out. Not that she wasn't enjoying her time at the cabin, she was loving it, but after the emotional heaviness of today, she needed to get out and blow some cobwebs away.

Jaz had a small nap in the afternoon. She was emotionally exhausted after the morning and just needed a little bit of time alone.

Dalton chopped some more firewood and played with Patton. He hadn't expected that conversation with Jaz today, but he was glad they had it. He hoped it helped with her nightmares, but also knew that Hossein was just one contributing factor to those nightmares. He knew that from experience.

He was sitting on the couch, still playing with Patton, when his phone buzzed with a message. It was Amir, messaging the group chat with a picture of his latest cooking concoction.

 _ **Mmm Amir, that looks delicious**_ – Preach

 _ **You've cooked enough for a whole team**_ – McG

 _ **Maybe he has someone to cook for…**_ \- Preach

 _ **What? No way. Who?**_ – McG

 _ **Just testing recipes… For Top ;)**_ – Amir

 _ **And Jaz…**_ \- Preach

 _ **You still heading this way Amir?**_ – Top

 _ **That's still the plan. I'll text you**_ – Amir

 _ **You have two couches right, Top?**_ – McG

 _ **Why?**_ – Top

 _ **Just asking**_ – McG

 _ **For his freeloading, lazy ass to sleep on**_ – Jaz

Dalton smiled at that, he guessed Jaz had woken up from her nap.

 _ **Guilty :)**_ – McG

 _ **Just text me McG, plenty of room**_ – Top

 _ **Thanks, I'll bring the tequila**_ – McG

 _ **Oh boy**_ – Amir

 _ **It's ok Amir, I'll pack some water for you too**_ – McG

Jaz came out of her bedroom at that stage and headed into the bathroom to get ready for dinner. She pointed to her phone as she walked past Dalton and just shook her head in amusement. These guys could keep them entertained for hours.

After a few minutes, Dalton's phone buzzed again, but it was a message just to him this time, from Preach.

 _ **How are the selfies going?**_ – Preach

 _ **I've been selfie free for the last couple of days**_ – Top

 _ **Impressive**_ – Preach

 **Everything in moderation, right?** \- Top

 _ **So they say. How's Jaz?**_ – Preach

 _ **Ok. A few things to sort through, but she's getting there**_ – Top

 _ **Can't think of anyone better to help her**_ – Preach

 _ **I can, you. Sometimes I don't know if I'm saying the right**_ _ **thing**_ – Top

 _ **Some hearts understand each other, even in silence**_ – Preach

Dalton smiled and shook his head, typical Preach.

 _ **That's the first Preachism in a couple of weeks**_ – Top

 _ **Everything in moderation, right?**_ _–_ Preach.

* * *

Dalton was having trouble keeping his eyes off Jaz in the bar that night. She was wearing black skinny jeans and a red camisole top, and had her long hair straight and cascading down her back. She was beautiful. It reminded him of how she looked that night in Seville when he first told her about the stars. Bright eyed, glowing skin and a smile that he could lose himself in.

He was happy to see her like this, especially after the conversations they had earlier that day.

Dalton knew this bar they went to for dinner fairly well, he usually frequented it several times every time he was home on leave. The steaks were to die for and he thought Jaz would enjoy the atmosphere.

It had a fairly lively ambience in the well populated bar. It wasn't too noisy that they couldn't hear themselves speak, but there was a small cover band playing music that they both listened to.

After placing their meal orders, Dalton went to the bar to get them some drinks.

Jaz took this opportunity to sit back and just watch him. He was so handsome with his blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She had never been much of a beard fan, but on Dalton, it was like the icing on a cake. He looked amazing in his dark blue jeans and a denim shirt. Both fit him like a glove and showed off his muscular shoulders and arms. And that ass… holy hell.

She kept watching as a woman in a very tight dress approached him and tried to start a conversation just as the drinks were being handed over to him. The woman gave him a killer smile, which he returned, before pointing Jaz's way and heading back over to her.

Jaz didn't blame the woman for trying.

"Admirer?" Jaz asked when Dalton handed her a beer.

"Nah, just being friendly." Dalton teased.

"I'm sure she makes a lot of friends with that dress." Jaz noted

Dalton tilted his head and flashed her a big smile, "I told her I'm a one woman man tonight."

Jaz laughed at him, "Just tonight? Good to know."

They both laughed, just as their dinner arrived at the table.

Dalton kept looking up at Jaz throughout their meal. She really was stunning and he really was a one woman man that night. Some would argue that he had been for the last three years.

* * *

They left the bar a couple of hours later.

When they got back to the cabin, they grabbed another beer and went out onto the veranda to enjoy yet another beautiful evening. Dalton had only had one more drink at the bar since he was driving, but Jaz had downed a couple and was blissfully tipsy.

They stood against the railing, shoulder to shoulder, staring up at the stars.

"Thanks for this evening, Top. It's exactly what I needed."

Dalton smiled and bumped her shoulder with his, "I'm glad you had a good night."

They both just stayed there, shoulders touching, pretending they weren't both hyper aware of each other.

Dalton could smell the apple scent of her shampoo from the light evening breeze. It's a scent that he now associated with having her in his bed. He could feel the warmth of her shoulder pressed against his and out of the corner of his eye, he watched her lips each time she had a sip of her beer.

Jaz was on fire from Dalton's muscular shoulder leaning up against hers and she couldn't take her eyes off his strong forearms resting on the railing. His hands, which were surprisingly beautiful considering the job they both did, gripped his beer and she was having a hard time trying not to imagine those hands all over her body.

Jaz had been through the ringer with her emotions today, but this man standing next to her had been there with her every step of the way. Just as he always was. She had so much to thank him for, so much.

Jaz took a deep breath and turned to face Dalton. She looked up at him, right into his eyes and simply said "Thank you."

Dalton turned to look back into her own eyes and smiled, "You've already thanked me for tonight."

"No, not just tonight." Jaz swallowed and took a deep breath.

"Thank you for rescuing me in Tehran." Jaz whispered. "I've never said thank you. I realise Hossein isn't here for me to thank, but you are."

Dalton stared into those big brown eyes, looking at him with a touch of sadness, but also something else he couldn't quite read.

"It's…" He was about to say that it was his job to get her out but he stopped himself. It _was_ his job, but it had been so much more than that. He didn't want to dismiss this as just his job.

He wanted to be honest with her, she deserved that.

So instead he took his own deep breath, continued to look her right in the eye and slowly confessed, "There was _no way_ I was leaving without you, Jaz. I wasn't going to leave. That was never an option… Never."

They just stared into each other's eyes, Jaz's darkening even further from their usual brown, both processing what Dalton had just revealed.

"Wh – Wha…" Jaz tried to form a sentence, but didn't have the words.

They were leaning in close to each other, still not being able to tear their eyes away from each other.

Dalton knew exactly what he wanted to do. He wanted to kiss her. Wanted to wrap his arms around her. But the inner turmoil he was experiencing made it hard to think straight. He was her CO; there was a line not to cross. This would be wrong, and frowned upon. It could end their careers, or certainly their team.

Jaz wanted to kiss those lips that she dreamed about. Wanted to feel them on her own lips and know what they taste like. But he was her CO. She was under his command. They couldn't do this. It could be her career. Both their careers.

Preach's words to Dalton on their last day in Turkey flashed before him. He remembered him saying that life is short and not to take for granted what could be taken away in the blink of an eye. Preach was right. In the job they did, tomorrow was not guaranteed and he didn't want to regret finding out if this could be more. He didn't want to look back on this as a lost opportunity.

With those thoughts in his head and decision made, Dalton took another step closer to Jaz, reached his hands out to cradle her jaw, whispered the words, "Fuck it", and leant down to capture her lips with his.

Jaz instantly responded by leaning in to the kiss and bringing her hands up to grasp his waist.

The kiss was light and tentative, as if testing the waters. They both pulled back slightly, looking at each other for the slightest bit of apprehension, but all they saw was desire. Their magnetism to each other brought their lips back together, this time pressed even closer.

Dalton tilted his head slightly to deepen the kiss and Jaz's arms were now wrapped completely around his waist, holding tight. His lips tasted as sweet as Jaz thought they would and his beard was surprisingly soft against her skin.

Jaz's hands slid up Dalton's back to grasp at his shoulders, while he buried his hand in the hair at the back of her neck, and had another arm around her waist, holding her close. Lips still locked together, they continued to taste each other and enjoy this moment they had waited so long for.

Dalton twisted them around so Jaz's back was against the railing and leant so their bodies were touching from toes to chest. His arms held her close, very close. Their desire for each other was evident, Dalton finding his especially hard to hide.

Jaz's arms were looped around his neck with one hand grasping the hair on the back of his head. He licked her lips with his tongue gently and Jaz opened up her mouth to give him access. They both moaned and deepened the kiss even further.

Everything they had been feeling for so very long, was being expressed in this kiss. It had been a long time coming, but worth it.

After staying wrapped up in each other's arms for another minute, Dalton slowly, and carefully pulled back to rest his forehead against Jaz's. He knew this couldn't go any further tonight. It had been an emotional day for Jaz, and he didn't want any of their actions to be just about blowing off steam.

Their chests were both heaving, trying to catch their breath back and both had their eyes closed, savouring the moment.

With their foreheads still touching, Jaz just whispered, "Wow."

"Yeah." Was all Dalton could mumble, still lost for words.

They stood there for a long while, still with their arms around each other, with both of them wondering why it had taken them so long to get to this point.

* * *

 **Finally a kiss! What do you think? Please let me know.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Starting to get a little bit more mature, hopefully you all approve :)**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

Jaz and Dalton were still standing on the veranda, foreheads touching and still pressed up against each other. Both of them were still thinking about the kiss they had just shared and how perfectly their bodies had fit together.

They were trying to bring their ragged breathing under control, both still slightly out of breath.

Dalton finally took a step back and their arms dropped from clutching each other. He moved so he was standing next to her, both of them with the railing of the veranda against their back.

"Uh – umm… about…" Dalton started to stutter out.

Jaz cut him off fairly quickly, "Let's not… for now." She reasoned and quickly glanced up at him before once again looking straight ahead. "It's been a long day, let's not overthink it."

"Yeah, good idea." Dalton slowly nodded his head in relief. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to say anyway.

They stayed outside a little longer and finished up their beers. Nothing was said between them, but they were both replaying that kiss over, and over in their minds.

When they were both ready to head inside to bed, Dalton wondered if Jaz would still be sleeping in his bed that night, or if it was just too awkward now. He didn't have to wonder for long.

With Jaz determined to not overthink it, as soon as she got ready in her pj's, she grabbed her book and went to Dalton's door. He was still getting ready but she knocked on the open door.

"Is it still ok…" She trailed off, while pointing to his bed.

He smiled softly back at her and said, "Yeah, of course."

Jaz was relieved. She didn't want to sleep alone after their talk about Hossein today. She had definitely felt better after talking about him with Dalton, but that didn't mean she wasn't still worried about her nightmares.

Dalton was also relieved. He really liked having her in his bed, even if it had only been platonic so far; or as platonic as two friends who end up in each other's arms in the middle of the night, could be. He was just glad she hadn't been scared off.

Neither of them had any nightmares since they started sleeping in the same bed. And neither of them wanted to find out what would happen if that stopped.

* * *

The next morning Dalton woke up to find he and Jaz wrapped in each other's arms, once again. Jaz was resting her head on his chest and he had one arm wrapped around her shoulders and his other hand was clutching hers against his chest.

Dalton smiled as he came to and moved his head slightly to look at Jaz, resting on his chest. He had such a strong urge to lean down and kiss her forehead, but he tried to resist. He wasn't sure where that kiss last night left them, and he didn't want to push it. He would just see how it played out. That seemed to be his MO at the moment anyway.

He had an idea of what to do today, if Jaz was keen, it was exactly what they needed.

Dalton was just slipping out of bed to let Patton out when Jaz stirred.

"Hey, feel like hiking to a waterfall today?"

"Mmm, is it that one you sent photos of?" Jaz asked sleepily.

"Sure is, it's beautiful." He confirmed.

"Sounds good… but coffee first, yeah?"

He chuckled. As if Jaz could do anything without coffee first.

"Of course." He kept chuckling as he went out to see to Patton and put the coffee on.

Dalton was pleased that Jaz had agreed to the hike. Not only did he really want to show it to her, but the long and arduous hike will do them both some good and hopefully stop him from thinking about last night's kiss, over and over again.

* * *

He was wrong.

That kiss was all he could think about, and the long hike to the waterfall didn't dampen that at all. If anything, it made it worse.

Like their other hikes, he continued to point things of interest out to Jaz, while she snapped away on her phone. But this time he watched her even more than usual, from behind his sunglasses. Thank fuck for his sunglasses!

He could not get out of his mind how it had felt to hold her against him and kiss her last night. How well her body moulded to his, how she sounded moaning into his mouth and how soft her skin was when he touched it.

Now he was taking her somewhere where he would see her in a swim suit again. What the fuck had he been thinking?

Jaz knew exactly why Dalton had suggested this hike today. It was the same reason she had agreed to go. It was going to keep their minds off their kiss and any awkwardness that would be likely to arise. If anything, she was even more aware of him now.

She had always found him attractive, from the very first moment she met him. The attraction grew the more she had gotten to know him over the years. Finding out he was a genuinely great guy, with so much integrity was a major attraction for her. She hadn't known many great guys until she joined his team. They were all great, but Dalton had always been a bit different. Even Elijah had known that.

Now, after knowing how it felt to kiss him, how it felt to be held by him and how it felt to have her body pressed up against him, that attraction had multiplied exponentially.

She would just try to keep herself busy by snapping lots of pictures, playing with Patton and try not to think about Adam with his top off once they arrived at the waterfall.

* * *

When they reached their destination, Jaz was instantly struck with the majestic beauty of the waterfall. What she had seen so far of these mountain ranges, had all been so beautiful. She had been to a lot of different places all over the world, but she's starting to think the Blue Ridge Mountains are at the very top of her list.

Jaz moved closer to the water to take a few photos while Dalton found a spot to leave their belongings.

There were a few other people there today, a few sitting on the surrounding rocks and some already in the lake at the bottom of the waterfall, enjoying the cool water.

Dalton sat down and scouted his surroundings, as was second nature to him.

There were a couple of families with small children, an older couple sitting quite close to him and a few younger couples. The older couple gave him a friendly smile, which he returned, before turning back to see Jaz and Patton approaching him and sitting down next to him.

Jaz was eager to get into the water after their long hike, so she started stripping off her clothes, and once again Dalton was extremely grateful for the sunglasses.

Jaz was just stunning. Lean and muscular. Small and feminine. Scarred, but beautiful.

Dalton couldn't help but mentally catalogue the scars covering her body. Multiple scars riddle her legs, their origins not officially confirmed, but Dalton had some ideas. The numerous small scars all over her body; lasting remnants of her capture in Tehran. They were still like a kick to the gut every time he saw them. Not out of distaste, but they were a reminder of how close they had come to losing her. How close _he_ had come to losing her.

Jaz looked over at him and asked, "You coming in?"

Dalton removed his sunglasses and tried to act casually, almost like he had been caught appraising her, "Yeah, I'll be there in a sec, you go ahead."

He watched as Jaz walked towards the water, Patton trotting after her. That dog's loyalties appear to be changing he thought to himself and smiled at the thought.

"She's a lucky woman to have a man smile after her like that."

Dalton turned to the older couple near him and saw the woman smiling at him.

"Oh – no, we aren't…" He wasn't quite sure how to respond, so the woman just smiled at him again.

"My husband first looked at me like that almost 40 years ago, and we've been inseparable ever since. You'll see." She continued while still smiling at him knowingly before going back to the book she was reading.

Dalton just turned back towards the lake, a little incensed that he wasn't being as discreet as he thought he was. His poker face was usually one he prided himself on.

He took his shirt off and headed towards the water to where Jaz was peering into some of the rock pools around the lake.

She looked up and smirked as he approached, "McG was right, I don't think Amir would be able to stand in some of these."

"We should bring Amir here when he arrives to test it out." Dalton laughed and Jaz joined in with him.

They spent an hour or so moving around the edge of the lake, studying the rock pools, feeling the spray from the waterfall and just enjoying their surroundings.

By the time they went in for a swim, Patton was already napping near their belongings, tired after the long hike and warm weather.

They swam towards the base of the waterfall, where it cascaded into the lake and stood right under the fall of water, crashing onto their heads. They both laughed out loud at the strange sensation and the force of the water contorting their facial expressions and plastering their hair to their heads.

Dalton loved seeing Jaz carefree like this and Jaz loved seeing Top laugh with abandon. Everything seemed lighter here and so easy. It was a lifetime away from the life or death missions they faced on deployment.

They moved to the body of water between the cascade and its rock interface, both bobbing down on the slippery rocks beneath the surface so only their heads were above the water. The noise of the waterfall at this proximity made conversation nearly impossible, so they moved closer together to be able to speak at all. Very close in fact.

"Is Patton ok?" Jaz said with her lips very close to Dalton's ear.

Dalton turned around where he could see their belongings and Patton, just to the side of the waterfall, "Still fast asleep," he answered.

"That dog sleeps more than I do." Jaz admonished, as Dalton moved back to face her, nearly bumping foreheads, she was so close.

This was the second time they had found themselves this close in a body of water and they couldn't help but remember the last time this happened.

They stilled in the water and it was as if everything went silent, as if the crashing water just a foot away didn't exist.

Their eyes were locked and once again Jaz found herself darting looks at Dalton's lower lip. She remembered how it felt against her own lips the night before and craved that feeling again. She looked back up into his eyes and saw the same level of desire reflecting back at her.

Instead of overthinking this, Jaz made a quick decision, whispered "Fuck it", just like he had the night before, and lent forward to crash her lips against Dalton's, hands reaching out and grabbing either side of his neck.

Dalton's initial surprise was quickly forgotten as he began to return the kiss, arms reaching out to grab her around the waist and pull her even closer, so close that she wrapped her legs around his waist to balance herself.

They kissed passionately, and deeply, completely engrossed in each other. It was as if their mouths remembered each other from the previous evening, and they just picked up from where they left off.

In the water, Jaz was as light as a feather so Dalton took this opportunity to let his hands roam all over her back and up and down the thighs wrapped around him. He let one hand settle, cupping her ass, and the other hand slid up and down her side, resting on her rib cage, just below her breast.

As they continued to kiss, tongues exploring each other's mouths, Dalton used his thumb to tentatively rub back and forth on the underside of her breast. He felt her moan into his mouth and she briefly pulled away from his lips to whisper into his ear, "Touch me".

Dalton froze momentarily, and looked into her eyes. The line between them that had been a little murky lately, was about to become nearly transparent, but the mutual heat between them was undeniable.

Unable to resist, Dalton crashed his lips back onto hers and gently cupped her breast with his hand, through her swim suit. He dragged his thumb over her nipple and he felt it instantly harden and Jaz arch herself into him, craving more.

He continued to rub her nipple back and forth, and Jaz felt ripples of pleasure spread right down through her body as she held onto him, throwing both her arms around his neck.

Her legs tightened around his waist and it was his turn to moan as she rocked her hips against his already hard cock. His hand, still cupping her ass, pressed her even closer with a tight grip so their hips ground against each other, and she let out a small gasp.

Jaz's lips left his and started to kiss his neck, all the way up to his ear lobe, which she pulled into her mouth and sucked long and hard. Their mutual pleasure continued to grow as their hips still rocked together, trying to satisfy the ache deep within them.

Dalton wanted to strip Jaz of her swimsuit and pleasure her all over, but the fact they were in public with some young families close by started to play on his mind. Sure, they were currently mostly hidden behind the waterfall, but he didn't want to give anyone an eyeful. He didn't want anyone else seeing Jaz, other than himself.

He stilled his hand on her breast and pulled back to look Jaz in the eye. The heat in them, almost had him changing his mind. But even behind the haze, Jaz knew what had to happen. They were currently hidden beneath the water level, but that didn't mean it wouldn't be obvious to anyone who saw them as to what they were doing.

Looking at each other and trying to catch their breath, Jaz rocked her hips against Dalton's one last time, causing him to moan and close his eyes, before lowering her legs back down to stand on the rocks below.

She smiled at the satisfaction of knowing it was her who made him moan, and as she took a step back he looked at her again through slightly lowered eye lids, still fighting against the desire in his body.

They didn't need to say anything, they had never had to speak much to communicate in the field, and this moment felt just like that.

Jaz gave him one last heated look, before ducking back down under the waterfall and swimming away.

Once again, Dalton was left with a problem he had to resolve before he could get out of the water so he stayed in the same spot and tried not to replay what had just happened over and over in his head. It wasn't helping his situation.

When he did finally climb out to go and sit back with Jaz and Patton, the older lady who had spoken to him before caught his eye. She gave him a small smile and a wink… Damn it, she had seen them.

* * *

They walked back to the cabin later that day in silence.

Dalton's original plan of the long hike and day at the waterfall to forget about last night's kiss, had clearly back fired. Their minds had even more to process now, and neither of them were very good at talking about these complexities

Jaz didn't know whether to be worried, confused, happy or a million other things. There was no denying her attraction to Dalton. The last couple of days had proved that, but should they be doing this? What exactly _were_ they doing? As always, when it came to Top, she didn't really know.

They made it all the way back to the cabin without saying a word to each other, but they had exchanged looks multiple times and sneaked looks at the other multiple times also.

Dalton walked straight to the fridge and pulled out two beers, popped their lids and handed one of them to Jaz. She took it wordlessly and took a long sip. It was heaven after the long, warm hike back.

After another long sip, they both started to speak at once.

Laughing, Dalton offered, "You first."

"About what happened, or… umm – about what's been happening…" Jaz drifts off, not quite sure how to finish the sentence.

Dalton looks at her a long time before starting himself, "I've been thinking about this the whole way back, and I'm still not sure what's happening."

"Me neither." Jaz admitted. After another bout of silence and some thought she continues, "Let's not try to put a label on it. Let's just see what happens and we'll deal with it when we need to deal with it," trying to shrug nonchalantly whist saying so, but not feeling that way at all.

She was waiting to be rejected. Waiting to feel the rejection she had felt so many times over the course of her life.

To Dalton, it seemed sensible enough. They were on leave after all. If they were currently deployed, this conversation would have probably taken a very different route, but the bit of freedom afforded to them on leave, allows them to possibly explore some more.

Dalton runs his hand over his beard as he so often does when he's thinking. He was conflicted between Adam Dalton, the Commanding Officer of Special Operations Group 7, and Adam Dalton the man. He also kept coming back to Preach's words of wisdom that last night in Turkey. They were on leave, and it was only just the start. It wouldn't hurt just to see what happens.

It could all backfire and be a monumental fuck up. Or, it could be the best thing he's ever done in his life. He wanted to find out which one; he could deal with the fall out later.

"Ok." He smiles while looking back at Jaz.

"Ok?" Jaz was a little shocked that he was so agreeable.

"Yeah, ok." He confirms and smiles at her.

This was going to be interesting.

* * *

Later that night, after they had dinner and were just sitting down on the couch to watch a movie, Dalton received a text from Amir.

 _ **Top, still ok if I visit?**_ – Amir

 _ **Yeah, buddy. Just say when**_ – Top

 _ **I'm thinking of driving over in two days, if that suits?**_ – Amir

 _ **Copy that, text me when you're close and I'll make sure I'm home**_ \- Top

 _ **Will do**_ – Amir

 _ **I think Jaz will be expecting some of your cooking**_ – Top

 _ **Wouldn't expect anything less**_ – Amir

Dalton smiled and put his phone away. It would be good to see Amir, and he was so glad that Jaz and Amir got along these days too. He's pretty sure Jaz would have left before Amir got there otherwise, and that's not what Dalton wanted.

But what happens between himself and Jaz, once Amir arrives? He had no idea.

Dalton turned to Jaz to let her know the update, "Amir is heading this way the day after tomorrow."

Jaz smiled, "Let's put him to work in the kitchen as soon as he gets here."

"I told him that would be your response." Dalton laughed.

They settled in to watch the movie, both Dalton and Jaz managing to keep their hands to themselves for the whole time. That's not to say they weren't thinking about it though.

Once the movie finished, Dalton glanced over to see Jaz fast asleep on the other end of the couch. He smiled faintly; seeing her asleep always gave him some peace. He knew sleep didn't always come easy, and there was always the threat of nightmares looming, but every bit of sleep counts, and she had a lot to catch up on.

He briefly considers leaving her on the couch so as not to disturb her, but they've learnt that sleeping near each other seemed to stave off the nightmares, at least so far.

He leant down to pick her up and carried her into his bedroom, and settled her on what was now _her_ side of the bed.

Dalton just sat and stared at her for a minute. She was so beautiful, and looked so peaceful like this. She didn't even know how beautiful she was, and that's one of the things he liked best about her.

He got into bed himself and turned off the lamp. As he settled himself under the covers, Jaz moved herself closer to him, as if automatically sensing his presence, and snuggled into his side.

"Night, Adam," he heard her very faintly mumble.

 _Adam_? She had never once in the three years they had known each other, called him Adam.

But he liked it. He liked it a lot.

"Goodnight, Jasmine," He whispered back, and pulled her closer into his side.

They may not be putting labels on whatever they were, but whatever this was, he liked it. He liked it a lot.

* * *

 **I'm posting this during the week, because I won't have a chance this weekend. Hope you all liked it, let me know what you think :)**

 **If anyone is on Instagram or Twitter, I am thebravefan on both :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Another slightly more mature chapter, hope you enjoy!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

Dalton woke the next morning with Jaz still wrapped in his arms, and fast asleep. As he lay there, just enjoying holding her, he realised that this would be their last day alone for a few days, since Amir was arriving tomorrow.

He was looking forward to seeing Amir, he had fit into the team so seamlessly, especially once Jaz eased up on him, but he had really enjoyed this time with Jaz. He still had no idea how long she would be staying, but he hoped it would be a little longer yet. A lot longer actually.

Dalton decided to slip out while Jaz still slept to get a few chores done around the cabin before Amir's arrival. As much as he didn't want to leave her warm body in bed, he wanted to get the chores done early so he could spend the day with Jaz.

Jaz only stirred slightly as he slipped out of bed as quietly as he could. He watched as she curled into the warm spot where he had been lying and snuggled into his pillow. If you had told him three weeks ago, that Jaz Khan would be in his bed, having slept cuddled up to him all night, he would never have believed it. And yet now, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

He finally backed out of the room, put the coffee pot on and then went outside with Patton to make a start on the chores.

* * *

When Jaz wandered out of the bedroom a little while later, it was to find coffee all ready to go, thank goodness, but no sign of Dalton.

She wandered out onto the back veranda with her coffee to see if he was out there and she caught sight of him up a ladder, chopping some dead branches off a tree. She leaned against the railing and just watched.

She could watch him all day. In fact, sometimes she does. Her job has a sniper made her very observant anyway, but subtly watching Adam Dalton, was one of her favourite pastimes. And the more she had gotten to know him over the years, the more she wanted to watch.

As she was staring at him, he sensed her presence and turned around. He finishing up with the branch he was hacking off and then wandered over to stand on the steps leading up to the veranda. With him standing on the second step, they were eye-to-eye.

He smiled slowly at her, "Good morning."

"Morning." She returned with the same slow smile.

"Sleep ok?"

"Considering I don't remember going to bed, I would say that's a yes." Jaz blushed slightly. She remembered settling down to watch the movie last night, but the next thing she remembered was waking up, with Dalton already gone this morning.

'I'm glad you're getting some sleep." Dalton responded softly, still smiling at her.

Jaz, still blushing, just nodded her head, getting lost in those blue eyes once again.

Dalton bit his lip and looked back at the tree he had been chopping. "I have a little bit to finish out here, but I need to go into town today, we could get some lunch and then hit the supermarket for more supplies before Amir gets here. What do you think?"

"Actually, I need to return my hire car, so sounds great."

"Oh really, planning on staying a little longer?" Dalton prodded cheekily.

"I mean, maybe. Or I can always go with Amir when he leaves…" Jaz teased and saw the amusement in Dalton's eyes.

"Well you _are_ friends now." Dalton quipped as he started back down the steps.

"Practically besties." Jaz shrugged.

"Remind me to use the term 'besties' with McG." Dalton laughed as he walked back to the ladder.

Jaz laughed with him before finishing up her coffee. She watched him for a bit longer. Watched his muscles rippling while he tackled the tree. Watched the concentration on his face, a look she had seen many times before.

She had to force herself to head back inside and shower and get ready. She didn't know what would happen once Amir got there, but she was super happy to spend another day alone with Dalton.

* * *

A couple of hours later, they drove in tandem into town and straight to the car hire yard to return Jaz's car. She hopped into Dalton's truck then and he drove them into the centre of town.

He needed to pick up a few things at the hardware store and Jaz wanted to hit a clothing store, so they went their separate ways for an hour to do what they needed to do. When they met up at the car, Dalton raised his eyebrows at Jaz's numerous bags.

"Did you buy half of Pennsylvania?"

Jaz just looked up at him through her eye lashes, "Maybe. I did buy a new bikini…"

The glint in Dalton's eyes slowly darkened, and Jaz just smirked.

"Good day for a swim then…" Dalton said roughly while clearing his throat, trying to not picture Jaz in a bikini, but failing.

"We probably won't have time..." Jaz responded casually, while throwing the bags in the car, "But please tell me it's time for lunch.

Dalton shook his head to try and rid himself from the thoughts of Jaz in a bikini. Easier said than done, but he led Jaz to an Italian restaurant for lunch and just hoped that those thoughts would abate over pizza and pasta.

After lunch, they hit the supermarket and stocked up on food and alcohol again, before heading back to the cabin, still with much of the afternoon ahead of them.

While Jaz and Dalton had joked about swimming, she actually had something else in mind. She was hoping they could try some fishing again. Hopefully they could be more successful than her first attempt.

She ran the idea by Dalton, and despite his surprise, he was happy to indulge her request.

"Do you want to try the same spot or change it up?" He asked her.

Jaz thought about it briefly before responding, "The same spot. I want to conquer it before moving on to another spot."

Dalton rolled his eyes, "Typical."

"What's that supposed to men?"

Dalton smiled cheekily, "Nothing bad, just your stubbornness shining through."

"Scared I'll catch more fish than you, Top?" Jaz threw back at him.

"I'm actually more scared for the fish themselves." He declared as he headed outside to get the fishing gear ready.

* * *

They were set up on that same Jetty as last time. The same Jetty where Jaz had let Dalton into one of her recurring nightmares. It was one of many, there were still a lot she hadn't told him about, but it somehow felt more peaceful sitting there this time. Like some of her demons had been exorcised.

She had remembered how to cast off, and they were both sitting there, expectantly, waiting for a bite. Patton was sitting alongside them, stretching out in the sun.

"What time is Amir getting here tomorrow?" Jaz asked while waiting.

"Not sure yet, he said he'd text. I'm assuming the afternoon at some stage."

"I wonder what's kept him in DC for a week…?" Jaz smiled, half to herself, but Dalton caught sight of it.

"I assume he was just seeing the sights. We didn't get to see any when we were there after our deployment ended." Dalton was slightly confused by the way Jaz was looking at him.

Jaz just kept grinning, "He was definitely seeing some sights, not sure if they were of the geographical kind though…"

"Huh – what are you talking ab… Hey, I got one!" Dalton got side-tracked as he felt a tug on his line.

He stood up and started to reel in his line, slowly, but clearly with a lot of experience behind it. He managed to catch a decent sized Small Mouth Bass, and put it into his bucket to grill later that night.

Happy with his first catch, he had just cast off when Jaz felt a tug at her line as well.

She was straight up to her feet and started to slowly reel her line in, just like Dalton had showed her.

He was standing right next to her and watched her face as she concentrated. It was the same expression as when she was lining up a shot, or scoping out the enemy. He watched that expression change to one of delight as she reeled her own Small Mouth Bass in.

"I'm pretty sure this is bigger than yours, Top." She exclaimed as she held it up to show him, like a trophy.

"Of course it is." He said resignedly, while shaking his head and smiling at the same time.

Dalton helped her get the fish off the line and put it in the bucket.

She stood next to the bucket, just peering in, looking at the two fish.

Dalton was next to her, just watching her, "Still gloating?" He asked sarcastically.

But when she met his eyes, he saw something he wasn't expecting. Softness, tinged with sadness and sentiment. She smiled gently and kept looking into his eyes.

"My first catch… That one was for Hossein." Jaz whispered softly, tears shining in her eyes.

Dalton stared back into her big brown eyes, realising that this had been cathartic for Jaz. This had been something she had needed to do to come to terms with some of her demons.

What he did next was something he needed to do.

He took a step closer to her and reached out a hand to place it tenderly on her cheek, his thumb wiping away a stray tear and his fingers burying themselves in her hair.

Jaz leant into his palm, welcoming the comfort he always seemed to provide, her eyes never leaving his.

Eyes locked, he leant down and pressed his lips to hers, his other hand finding her cheek so he was cradling her head in both his hands. He couldn't help himself, he wanted to kiss away any residual guilt she still had.

The kiss was soft and tender and full of emotion, and Jaz returned it with just as much emotion. She felt like the guilt she had been carrying around for Hossein was slowly being erased by Dalton's comfort, care and reassurance.

She brought both of her arms up to wrap around his waist and as they slowly pulled their lips away from each other, Dalton released one of his hands from her cheek to wrap around her shoulders and pull her to his chest.

He held her close, one hand continuing to caress her cheek, soothing her as it did so. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead before resting his chin on her head. He loved that she fit so snugly against him, like she was meant to be there.

Jaz had never felt safer in her whole life as she did at that very moment. Her team rescuing her in Tehran was a close second, but here against Dalton's chest with his arms wrapped around her, she felt more peaceful than she ever had. There was a lot she still had to work through, she knew that, but maybe it was supposed to be worked through with Dalton at her side.

She felt his chest rumble as he started to chuckle. She looked up at him questioningly, still being held close.

Dalton looked down at her and explained, "Hossein would have loved that your fish was bigger than mine, he was just as competitive and stubborn as you are."

She just laughed lightly in response, she genuinely loved hearing these tidbits about Hossein.

Dalton smiled at her and placed one last soft peck on her lips, holding her gaze for a second longer before pulling away, "C'mon, there's plenty more fish out there just waiting for us to catch them."

They spent another couple of hours out there, only keeping another couple of fish and releasing all the others they caught.

Jaz found herself genuinely enjoying this relaxing past time and Dalton promised to show her some other spots around the mountains. She couldn't wait.

* * *

That evening they grilled the fish they had caught on the barbeque for dinner, built a fire, made s'mores and perched themselves on the back veranda like they had so many other nights, drinking beer and staring at the stars.

"So what sights are we going to show Amir when he gets here?" Jaz broached.

"We?" Dalton quizzed.

"Well I'm practically a local now, with my new fishing prowess and all." Jaz grinned.

"How could I possibly forget?" He teased. He was actually hoping Amir would be up for some fishing. There was a beautiful part of the river that was great for fly fishing. He would love to show them both.

" _We_ can just wait and see what Amir wants to do." Dalton reasoned. They would figure it out when he got there.

Just then, both their phones vibrated with an incoming message to their WhatsApp group chat.

 _ **Top, still got a couch free for me?**_ – McG

Dalton looked over at Jaz and raised his eyebrows, she just shrugged in response.

 _ **Yeah buddy, it's yours if you want it**_ – Top

 _ **I'm thinking of stopping by in a couple of days. Is Amir there yet?**_ – McG

 _ **He arrives tomorrow**_ – Top

 _ **Jazzy still there?**_ – McG

 _ **I sure am**_ – Jaz

 _ **You gonna give up that bed for your fave 6'2'' buddy?**_ – McG

 _ **Preach isn't coming**_ – Jaz

 _ **That's my girl**_ – Preach

Dalton and Jaz both smiled as Preach joined the conversation.

 _ **Ouch, that hurts**_ – McG

 _ **Put a band aid on it sugar**_ – Jaz

 _ **You've been hanging around Top too long**_ – McG

 _ **We're besties now**_ – Top

 _ **Besties? Fuck - you've been hanging around Jaz too long**_ \- McG

Guilty. Jaz and Dalton both laughed out loud at McG's response, but snuck a look at each other and smiled almost secretly.

 _ **What are my chances of a bed?**_ – Amir

 _ **Not a hope in hell**_ – Jaz

 _ **Thought as much**_ \- Amir

Dalton glanced quickly at Jaz. They hadn't discussed their current sleeping situation and whether it will change when Amir gets here. Currently there _was_ a spare bed. They should figure that out that at some stage. Soon.

 _ **Just let me know when you're arriving McG**_ – Top

 _ **Will do. Get the party ready for my arrival**_ – McG

Jaz rolled her eyes and chuckled at that. McG was impossible not to love.

 _ **Now I'm starting to feel left out**_ – Preach

 _ **You keep up that rehab buddy, we'll see you soon**_ – Top

 _ **I'm gonna hold you to that**_ – Preach

Jaz saw Dalton smiling at his phone after that. She knew he missed Preach. Watching Dalton in the hospital when Preach was in his coma, anyone could tell how much Preach meant to him. They'd known each other a long time and had seen a lot together.

"You should fly out and visit Preach." Jaz stated.

"Yeah… I'm sure I will at some stage." Dalton looked up at her and smiled, "When he's a bit further along with his rehab, I think it's still tough going at the moment."

Jaz just nodded in response.

Dalton looked at her and thought he would take this opportunity to broach the subject of their sleeping arrangement.

"Jaz…" he started tentatively. "… When Amir gets here, what happens…' He drifted off, not quite sure how to ask.

"To the way we sleep?"

Jaz could be quite blunt when she wanted to be, and at that moment, Dalton was very appreciative of that.

He nodded, waiting for her to continue.

She took a deep breath to settle herself before continuing slowly and thoughtfully, "Umm – I think… I think that since we haven't even figured this out ourselves, and we aren't putting any labels on it, that maybe we should keep this to ourselves for now."

Jaz looked at Dalton to see his reaction. He was nodding slowly in agreeance so she continued, "I'll go back to sleeping in my room, and we'll see what happens after Amir and McG have gone again."

"So you aren't going to leave with Amir then?" Dalton teased quietly.

"I mean, we'll see what happens. Depending on these new recipes of his, I might leave you alone with McG." Jaz teased right back and lightened the conversation.

"He'll have to be my new bestie."

They both chuckled at that and went back to staring at the stars. They sat quietly for a few more minutes.

Eventually Dalton worked up the guts to venture softly, "I'll miss you sleeping in my bed."

Jaz continued to stare skyward, but the relief she felt at hearing him vocalise what she had been thinking about the last few minutes put her at ease.

She took a deep breath and offered, "Well, we still have tonight."

* * *

They sure did have tonight.

They finished up another beer each, put out the fire and got ready for bed.

They climbed into Dalton's bed and lay facing each other. Despite the ambiguity of whatever was happening between them, other than cuddling and snuggling, which had only happened once they were asleep, they hadn't actually done anything in bed.

Yet.

It appeared the great outdoors was their happy place, so to speak. The bed had always seemed off limits. But now they knew this was the last night, even temporarily, the thoughts going through both their minds were far from pure.

All the lights were off, but the bedroom was lit up from the near full moon overhead.

"Top, what are you thinking?" Jaz whispered.

Dalton smirked. "I'm thinking that since you're lying in my bed, you should probably call me Adam."

Jaz smiled at that, but reasoned, "I don't want to get into that habit with Amir arriving tomorrow. I'll try once he and McG have gone.

"Fair enough." Dalton agreed.

"So what are you thinking?" Jaz repeated.

Dalton was quiet for a few seconds, trying to determine what response to give her. The clean one, or the dirty one.

He went for the clean one, "I'm thinking about how glad I am that you decided to leave New York. You?"

"I was thinking the same thing." Jaz admitted.

Dalton reached out and ran his hand from her shoulder all the way down her arm and back again.

He decided to be dirty too. "I'm also wondering if I should have taken advantage of this bed."

There was a moment of silence. Fuck, he shouldn't have said that.

"I was thinking the same thing." Jaz repeated and moved herself closer to him, his hand still running up and down her arm, and relief running through him.

He could see her eyes in the moonlight and they bore a hole right through him. She looked absolutely beautiful in this light, even more so than usual. He couldn't resist and he didn't want to.

He leant towards Jaz, but she was already meeting him halfway. With one last look deep into each other's eyes, he gripped her upper arm and their lips met.

They kissed eagerly, opening their mouths almost immediately to deepen it.

Jaz placed a hand on Dalton's chest and ran it down his torso feeling his muscles rippling beneath her finger tips. His skin felt alive with her touch and he wanted more.

The hand he had on her upper arm moved up to grasp her neck, guiding her head on an angle to deepen the kiss even further. He felt her tongue slip into his mouth at the same time as her hand wandered down further and further from where it had paused on his abs.

"Jaz." He breathed out against her lips as her hand brushed over his already hard cock through his boxer shorts. Her hand kept moving and went back up to his abs, but he was on fire.

He rolled her so she was lying on her back and pulled back quickly to look at her.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered, before she grasped the back of his head and pulled him down to crash his lips against hers.

They were kissing passionately, deeply, like they couldn't get enough of each other. Jaz reached for him again, wanting to feel him, wanting to feel what she was doing to him. She once again brushed her hand against his cock and it was all he could do not to just rip of her pj's right then and have his way with her.

Dalton moaned loudly into her mouth and she smiled against his lips. She's never seen this side of Dalton before, but she'd definitely dreamed of it.

The hand grasping Jaz's neck started to wander down over her chest, between her breasts, down over her stomach and rested on the spot where her tank top met her sleep shorts. He slid his fingers under the hem and settled his hand on her stomach. He pulled back to look her in the eyes, waiting to see if there was any apprehension.

He only saw desire and encouragement. He started sliding his hand upwards and when he leant down to capture her lips again, he palmed her breast and cupped it gently, finally skin to skin. He massaged her breast softly before running his thumb over her rock hard nipple.

Jaz moaned into Dalton's mouth and he took the opportunity to pull away and begin kissing her neck. He kissed and licked his way up and down her neck, while his hand continued to work its magic on her breast.

He moved his hand away, back towards the hem of her tank top and she groaned protestingly. He looked back down at her as he lifted her top up slightly, questioningly. She nodded at him and leant down to pull the top up and over her head, discarding it on the floor.

He just stared at her in the moonlight and repeated his words from earlier, "You're so beautiful," before continuing to caress her other breast, slowly and teasingly. Jaz's breath caught as he leant down further and captured her other nipple in his mouth and proceed to lick the nub with his tongue, before sucking it into his mouth. The feeling of his mouth on her naked breasts and the tickle that his beard provided was driving her insane.

Jaz writhed on the bed and ran her hands through the hair at the back of his head as he swapped to tease her other nipple with his tongue. She held his head in place as sensations of pleasure spread all over her body.

She couldn't get enough of him and dragged him even closer to her, so he was now laying on top of her, cradled between her legs, hips flush together, still protected by her sleep shorts and his boxers.

Pulling back to look each other in the eyes, Jaz tilted her hips up to grind herself against his cock.

Dalton's eyes rolled in their sockets at the feeling of her hips against his, grinding slowly, the friction increasing. Jaz lifted her head slightly to kiss his neck and he audibly moaned his pleasure and ground his hips even harder into hers.

They rocked against each other, Dalton's hand still caressing her breasts, but his lips were back on hers.

They were kissing furiously and frantically and their hips started to move faster against each other.

Jaz could feel his cock, seeming to get harder and harder, rubbing against her clit through their two layers of clothing. They both knew those pieces of clothing weren't coming off tonight, but the pleasure they were both getting through them, was more than enough for now.

Jaz's legs wrapped around Dalton's hips and they ground long strokes against each other. Dalton pulled his lips back from hers and started kissing her neck again. At the same time, they increased the speed of their thrusts against each other slightly and the combined sensation sent Jaz close to the edge.

When Dalton moved his lips from her neck, back down to one of her nipples and sucked hard, the waves that had been building in her erupted and with a cry, she released all the pent up tension and let it ripple all over her body, wave after wave.

Seeing Jaz writhing in pleasure underneath him, was enough to secure his own release, groaning loudly as his hips continued to rock against hers frantically at first, and then slowly tapering off as the pleasure spread all over him.

They were both breathing deeply and raggedly as they attempted to regain control and come down from their moment of bliss. Dalton had his head buried in the crook of Jaz's neck and she had her hands threaded through his hair.

After another minute, when their breathing was back to normal, Dalton pulled his head back and looked at her, "You ok?" He asked softly.

Jaz gave a very satisfied smile, "I'm more than ok, you?"

"Way more than ok, except I'm going to need to change my boxers." Dalton said sheepishly.

Jaz smiled, not quite believing what they had just done, but having no regrets whatsoever.

Dalton rolled off her so he was lying at her side again and he tugged her against him to kiss her lips slowly and softly. He had no regrets either.

This was definitely new to them and to their relationship. Labels or no labels, whatever what happening, was definitely advancing, and at the moment, they were both fine with that. Way more than fine.

After a few more lazy and satisfying kisses, Dalton got up to clean himself up and change his boxers. When he got back from the bathroom, he saw that Jaz had fallen asleep, cuddled up to his pillow.

He tried to get into bed without disturbing her, but she woke enough to snuggle up to him, head resting on his shoulder to go to sleep. She was still topless, and he could feel her breasts pressed against him. He didn't think he had felt this intimate with anyone in his whole life.

Tomorrow Amir would be here and he and Jaz would be back to being just team mates, so he was going to take advantage of every minute until that time came.

He kissed the top of her head, breathed in her apple scent shampoo, pulled her a little closer, and drifted off to sleep himself.

* * *

 **So I'm blushing a little bit. I know this is still a slow burn, but I've never written anything like this before. Hope it's ok, and would love to hear what you think :) Also, Amir arrives in the next chapter.**


	10. Chapter 10

**My next chapter turned out to be super long, so I divided it in half. Here is the first half, slightly shorter than usual, but I hope you like it :)**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

Jaz and Dalton both woke in the morning to the sun streaming through the gaps in the blinds.

Dalton blinked his eyes several times to wake himself up and noticed that he was curled around Jaz from behind, one arm around her waist. Her bare back was pressed against his chest and his head was buried in her apple scented hair.

He knew she was awake when she started to wriggle her back against him.

He held her still because with her moving like that against him, he couldn't guarantee he would keep it clean. Instead he moved so his mouth was right next to her ear and whispered, "Stop wriggling Jaz."

She laughed sleepily, "Good morning to you too."

Dalton was tempted to move his arm, and caress her breasts, but since Amir arrived today and they were going to scale back whatever was happening between them, he thought better of it. The more he had of her, the more he wanted her. And for the next few days, possibly longer, they needed to go back to being just team mates, who just happened to be living in the same cabin at the moment.

He rolled onto his back instead and stared up at the ceiling. Jaz followed suit, pulling the covers up so she was covered from the neck down.

"Looking forward to seeing Amir today?" Jaz asked

"Yeah. You?"

"I never thought I'd say this, but yeah I am." Jaz admitted grudgingly.

Dalton just smiled knowingly at her, which made her roll her eyes and chuckle, before looking back over at him. In whatever way he was smiling, it was always hard to look away from him, especially this morning when things were about to change.

Dalton sensed this and said softly, "Nothing is really going to change Jaz. We live with these guys for a large part of the year anyway, we're just not in Incirlik this time."

Jaz knew that, and there weren't any other people on the planet that she was more comfortable with than her guys, her team mates. Her family. They had very few secrets from each other, living on top of each other soon saw to that. But this time she felt like her and Top did have a little secret. Maybe not so little.

As if he was reading her mind, Dalton leant over and said gently, "It's all going to be fine." And with that he gave her a kiss on the cheek, and got up out of bed.

He needed to get up otherwise he would want to stay in that bed all day.

* * *

Dalton and Jaz spent the morning doing a few chores around the cabin, both inside and out. Jaz also moved a few of her items that had been left in Dalton's room, back into her own, so as to not give anything away once Amir arrived.

Amir had text Dalton at about 11am saying he was just leaving, so they were expecting him to arrive at the cabin by mid-afternoon.

Jaz went looking for Dalton to let him know she was going for a run. She found him around the back, chopping wood for their evening fires. And she just stood and watched for a minute or two before she made her presence known. This was exactly why she needed to run, because watching him like this, stirred all sorts of feelings in her.

She stayed back, not getting too close and called out to him, "Hey, Top?"

He lowered the axe and turned around to find her in her exercise gear.

"I'm just going for a run." Jaz told him, already starting to head off in the direction of the hiking trails.

"Do you remember the trails?" He asked after her. She just tilted her head and scowled at him as she was still backing away. "Of course you do." He answered himself, and watched her start to jog off.

He stood and watched her until she disappeared into the woods. He knew Jaz was going running for the very same reason he was outside chopping wood.

They were trying to keep their minds off what had happened between them the night before and even what had been slowly changing between them the last couple of weeks. The way they both dealt with situations like this, was by doing something physical.

If you had told him two weeks ago that he and Jaz Khan would be rolling around in his bed last night like a couple of teenagers, he would have said it was more likely that McG would settle down and get married.

Having said that, it hadn't felt awkward or uncomfortable at all. In fact, he didn't remember ever feeling so comfortable with someone. He was probably getting ahead of himself. They hadn't done anything too serious yet. But he wouldn't be forgetting the last couple of days anytime soon. Maybe Amir and McG arriving would be a good distraction. Yep, it's exactly what they needed.

Jaz was pounding the uphill trail she had chosen for today as fast as she could. She hadn't been on a run since arriving at the cabin, but they had been hiking every day or swimming, and that had been satisfying her need for physical exercise.

Today was different though. Today she was running to forget. Just like she often did after a nightmare. Only this time, it wasn't a nightmare she was running from, it was the exact opposite.

If you had told her two weeks ago that she would be rolling around with Adam Dalton in his bed like a couple of teenagers, she would have said it was more likely that McG would turn into a vegan.

Having said that, the last couple of weeks with Dalton had been anything but uncomfortable. There had been a couple of austere moments, but in true Top fashion, they had been flipped on their head and he calmed her like no one else had ever been able to. He made her _feel_ like no one else had ever been able to.

Amir and McG would be arriving at just the right time, so that she didn't get carried away. They were exactly what she needed, a distraction.

* * *

When Jaz returned from her run, she found Dalton in the cabin, texting on his phone.

"I've just heard from McG, he's flying here the day after tomorrow." Dalton told her.

"We should have bought more food!" Jaz joked.

"Yeah. I said I'd pick him up from the airport, might need to go via the supermarket first." Dalton kidded back.

Jaz headed to her room, with the intent of having a shower before Amir arrived, but they heard a car pull up outside and went to check it out.

They both smiled as they saw it was Amir, and Jaz was surprised at the rush of emotion she felt seeing her team mate after a few weeks apart. He had certainly grown on her, she just hadn't realised how much. Didn't mean she wouldn't still give him a hard time occasionally though, but the feeling of irritation, indifference and disgruntlement that she used to feel towards him had gone, and she felt so much better for it.

Amir got out the car and Dalton greeted him with a clasped hand and a pat on the back, before grabbing his bag off the back seat while Amir went to greet Jaz.

"Were you about to run away from me?" Amir asked, noticing her exercise gear.

"Thought about it." Jaz said ruefully.

"Good to see nothing has changed." Amir joked and Jaz laughed along with him before stepping forward to greet him with a hug. It really was good to see him.

Amir, much like Jaz, could not believe the quality of Dalton's cabin.

"This certainly wasn't how I had pictured it." Amir was in disbelief.

"Not my fault you lot make all these mountain man assumptions about me." Dalton shrugged.

Amir wandered into the kitchen, while Jaz teased him, "Make yourself comfortable in there."

Amir just smiled, he loved cooking for them; it made him genuinely happy and he loved to share not just his food and recipes, but his culture with them all.

Jaz excused herself to have a shower while the two guys caught up.

"How's Jaz?" Amit took the opportunity to ask while Jaz was in the bathroom.

Dalton paused for a moment before answering, "She's been ok. Still having nightmares, but has been doing better this last week." Dalton knew exactly why she had been better, but was not going to divulge that to Amir.

"I'm glad she left New York and ended up here. Looks like it agrees with her." Amir observed, and Dalton just smiled in response.

He was glad she had left New York too, for more reasons than he would admit to Amir, but he had to remind himself to be careful what he said about the whole Jaz situation. Amir was the most observant person he had met. It was largely the reason he chose him for the team. He was a master at undercover work and reading peoples actions and emotions. These were all epic attributes, but not when you were trying to suppress information.

Clearly Dalton needed to try harder, because when Jaz walked out of the bathroom following her shower, and straight into her bedroom, Amir didn't miss the way Dalton's eyes followed her from door to door. Or the way Jaz flicked her gaze to meet Dalton's briefly, right before her bedroom door closed.

* * *

There had been a storm warning for their area scheduled to arrive in a few days, so late in the afternoon they had spent an hour outside tidying up a few more things and making sure everything that needed to be secured was bolted or tied down. They were internally programmed to be prepared, so getting this done early was like second nature to them.

Later that evening, they sat down on the couches to catch up. They had eaten dinner a bit earlier and had let Amir off the cooking for his first night there. He'd be back on it tomorrow though, at his insistence.

Amir told them all about his couple of weeks in Lebanon and catching up with his parents and other family members. They had spent quality time together and Amir found some peace being back amongst his family. It sounded like it was the trip he had needed after a tough deployment.

He was also happy to be back stateside though, and now reunited with his other family, even if it was only for a few days.

"So what have you been doing in DC this past week?" Jaz inquired, trying to sound innocent.

"Just some touristy things." Amir responded non-committedly.

"By yourself?" Jaz pressed further.

"There were a lot of people in DC, I don't think I was ever alone." Amir answered, looking Jaz straight in the eye.

Oh he was good, Jaz thought. If she didn't already know Amir she would have totally believed him. He was a master at what he does. But Jaz knows better.

"So Hannah is good then?" Jaz asked knowingly.

Amir didn't falter in his facial expressions or eye contact. The only give away was the slight pink tinge to his cheeks and ears.

Jaz just smirked, while Dalton was just looking back and forth between her and Amir. He had no idea what he had missed from this conversation, but the undertones had him curious.

"What have I missed?" He questioned.

Jaz looked at him while tilting her head towards Amir, "Ask him."

Dalton moved his gaze to Amir who looked even more flushed now. Amir dropped his gaze and offered, "I caught up with Hannah in DC."

"Everyday…" Jaz prompted.

Amir knew he couldn't deny it. God help him once McG arrived.

He looked ruefully at Dalton, "Sorry Top, I know we aren't supposed to get involved with team mates, of sorts. I know it could backfire, but I thought since she's mostly in another country…" He trailed off, not sure how to continue.

Dalton finally clicked. Amir liked Hannah, and it appeared she liked him too. Interesting situation he thought, and one he had to think about before responding.

"So long as it doesn't affect our jobs Amir – all good." He shrugged.

Dalton and Jaz both avoided looking at each other, knowing that whatever was happening between the two of them, it would be ten times harder actually being in the same country, in the same living quarters and in the same team. Not to mention, Top being Jaz's Commanding Officer. Amir and Hannah's apparent emerging relationship would barely cause a blip on the radar. Dalton and Jaz's – that's a whole different story.

"Can't wait for McG to find out." Jaz quickly added, earning an eye roll from Amir.

After chatting for a bit longer, Jaz decided she was going to bed. It wasn't late, but she thought she would give herself a bit of extra time to adjust to sleeping by herself again. She wasn't looking forward to it. The warmth and comfort Top had been providing, had been indescribable and she was a little fearful of what sleeping alone again might entail. But it was time to put on her big girl pants again, and suck it up. An early night, was exactly what she needed.

She said good night to the two guys and walked into her room. As she turned around to close her door, she saw Dalton watching and her eyes met his. They held each other's gaze for an extended moment, both of them peppered with a touch of longing. Jaz had to force herself to look away and with a small, rueful smile, she closed her door behind her.

* * *

Dalton and Amir had stayed up for about another hour before calling it a night. Dalton got Amir settled on the couch, before heading to his own room.

He was lying in bed, trying to read, but couldn't concentrate on the book. The pillow next to him smelt like apples, his own pillow smelt like apples, the whole fucking bed smelt like apples. Actually, the whole bed smelt like Jaz. And he missed her. Even though she was just on the other side of his wall, he missed her.

It wasn't until a couple of hours later, that he was woken by the cries coming from the other side of that very wall. After taking a couple of seconds to get his bearings, he got out of bed and opened his door to find Amir starting to get up from the couch, also intent on checking out the cries.

"It's ok, I got this." Dalton told Amir, as he quietly opened Jaz's door and closed it behind him.

He walked up to Jaz slowly who was facing away from the door, head burrowing into her pillow and her cries so much louder now he was in the room with her. He tried just touching her shoulder, but when that didn't work he tried shaking her shoulder to wake her up. Still having no luck, he decided to lay down behind her and engulf her in his arms, trapping her arms against her chest.

He whispered over and over into her ear, "I've got you, I've got you, you're alright." Just like he had those first couple of days after she had arrived at the cabin and after they had rescued her in Tehran.

Eventually, his words and warmth managed to stir her from whatever demons were holding her hostage. He felt her body start to relax and her breathing rate lower as she opened her eyes and took in his presence in her bed.

They just lay like that, Jaz trying to relax and keep her breathing under control. Dalton just wanted to provide as much comfort as he could, still mindful of Amir being on the couch, right outside the door.

When Jaz's breathing was back under control, she rolled over so they were face to face, his arms still wrapped around her.

"You ok?" Dalton asked softly. It killed him that the nightmares had reappeared so quickly.

"Yeah." Jaz whispered. "You didn't need to come and check on me, you should go back to your room."

Dalton could tell she was worried about Amir seeing them.

"It's ok, Amir knows why I'm in here."

"He heard me too?" Jaz whispered with a tone of horror.

"He was just worried." Dalton assured her, "I'm sure he's probably back asleep by now."

Jaz just nodded in defeat. Unfortunately, the nightmares weren't easy to hide.

"Go back to sleep Jaz. I'll stay until you fall asleep." Dalton soothed. She snuggled into his chest and he couldn't help but place a soft kiss on her forehead, which made her smile. There was that apple scent again, and he wished he could fall asleep just like this. It would be so easy to do so, this was bliss.

After another half an hour, when Jaz's breathing had evened out into long continuous breaths, he kissed her forehead once more and gently eased himself out of her bed, managing to do so without waking her. He paused near the door to make sure she was still asleep and he would have given anything to climb back in there with her.

All was quiet on the couch therefore he figured Amir had gone back to sleep, so he crept back into his own room to get a few more hours of sleep himself.

Even though his eyes remained closed, and his breathing steady, Amir was not asleep. He noticed Top going back to his own room, so he figured Jaz was doing better for now. It hadn't escaped him though, that Top had spent over half an hour in Jaz's room, longer than any of them ever had when they were back on base in Incirlik.

He smiled softly to himself and remembered first meeting the both of them. It was clear that Top was protective over Jaz, even more so since they had just lost Elijah. It had also been clear that Jaz and Top were their own team within a team. They always partnered up, always sat next to each other and always looked for each other first when the shit hit the fan. He couldn't think of two people better suited, but he doubted that they themselves, knew how much. The rest of the team however, were all over that, without ever having discussed it.

* * *

 **Amir has finally arrived! What did you think?**

 **If anyone is on Instagram or Twitter, I am thebravefan on both :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi everyone, this is the second half of the previous chapter that I had written. Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

By the time Dalton and Jaz woke up the next morning, separately of course, Amir was already in the kitchen getting started on breakfast. The aromas had their stomach's grumbling and they realised how much they had missed his gourmet concoctions.

Dalton was helping set the table when Jaz shuffled out of her room and straight to the coffee pot that Amir had already put on. Her guys all knew she didn't function well without her morning coffee, and after her nightmare, she definitely needed it. She sat at the bench sipping her coffee, watching Amir, while Dalton went to let Patton out.

Amir turned towards her and looked her over gently while finishing up, "You ok?" he asked softly, and Jaz immediately knew he was referring to her nightmare.

She appreciated the concern, but didn't want to draw attention to herself, "Yeah, all good thanks."

He just nodded and turned back to what he was doing. He knew not to push her, especially this early in the morning. He just wanted to make sure she was ok.

"So what do we call this?" Jaz asked, referring to Amir's recipe.

"French toast."

"What? No new Lebanese recipe?" Jaz scoffed

"I thought I would wait until McG gets here to try the new stuff, he'll just whine if not." Amir explained.

"You're right, he totally will." Jaz agreed and she wandered out to the front porch where Dalton was waiting with Patton.

He turned around to face her as he heard her join him.

"Morning" He greeted her with a soft smile, "Did you manage to get some more sleep."

"Yeah I did." Jaz nodded into her coffee cup, "Thanks again for last night. I think I've spent most of this trip thanking you."

"Well there's no need, I've already said that." Dalton replied, "I…" Just as he was about to continue, Amir called out to let them know breakfast was ready. They just smiled at each other and went to tackle breakfast.

"Mmmm, Amir. This is delicious." Jaz praised. She really had come a long way with him, now able to hand out compliments and feel comfortable doing so, "I've missed your breakfasts."

Amir beamed in response, "Wait till you taste the new recipes, it'll make French toast look like stale bread."

"That's a big call buddy." Jaz teased, "Maybe we'll let McG decide that.

Dalton snorted, "McG thinks everything tastes like Christmas, he's easily pleased.

"That's true." Jaz admitted laughingly.

They demolished their breakfast and then got ready to head out for the day. Dalton was going to drive around to show Jaz and Amir a few different parts of the mountains and they were going to call by the supermarket again to gather up a few more supplies for when that storm hits. Amir also wanted to get a few more ingredients for some recipes he was going to lavish them with. They decided to wait until McG arrived before they tackled any more fishing escapades, or the waterfall again.

* * *

Dalton pulled up to a view point about a 45 minute drive from his cabin. It had a lookout, a café and a souvenir shop for visiting tourists. Dalton led Jaz and Amir to the look out, which was set up near the top of the mountains and the views awaiting them were absolutely magnificent. An all-encompassing vast landscape of green mountains as far as the eye could see was spread before them. Multiple mountain peaks with a vast array of fauna and flora was absolutely breath taking and Jaz and Amir were rendered speechless.

Dalton stood and just breathed in the clean air and was once again reminded of why he loved this place so much; why it calmed him and alleviated any residual stress or tension from deployments or missions. He was stoked to be able to share this with Amir, but especially Jaz. They were cut from the same cloth and he hoped she would find some peace while she was up here in these mountains too.

Amir had brought his digital SLR camera with him and he wandered off to capture as much as he could of these views. Jaz spent a minute or two awestruck by this grandiose panoramic in front of her, before getting her phone out and snapping some photos.

Dalton walked up and stood next to Jaz, watching her face as she took in these stunning surroundings. The look of wonderment on her face suited her, he would love to be able to induce that each and every day.

"Stunning, isn't it?" He ventured as he gripped the railings in front of him.

Jaz just looked up at him, the awe still shining in her eyes, "If you have all of this on your back door step, why on earth would you choose to live on the other side of the world for two thirds of the year? Everywhere you show me, just gets better and better."

He didn't even have to think about his answer, "Makes me appreciate it even more when I get back. And I wouldn't trade our time in Incirlik for anything."

He looked down at her and smiled that smile he reserved just for her. The one that comes out over fire side chats and star filled nights; the one she can't help but return. As she did so, she put her own hands on the railing, placing one hand right next to his, so their little fingers were touching.

That small touch was enough to evoke need in both of them; their need for each other. They held each other's gaze before he took a couple of deep breaths, slowly admitting, "I missed you last night."

It was Jaz's turn to take her own steadying breath, "Me too," she conceded while knowing she was turning a deep shade of pink. Their fingers were still touching and Dalton lifted his to wrap around Jaz's. It was such a slight touch, but to the both of them, it was like oxygen.

Amir was still off taking photos. He had wandered up a path a little bit higher up, and as he looked down his gaze landed upon his CO and Jaz. He couldn't hear their interaction, but he saw the body language. It was no secret that on their team, Jaz and Top worked incredibly well together and their relationship was closer, more intimate than others. But Amir was starting to think the intimacy had taken on a whole new level.

As was his skill set, he watched them without actually watching as they appeared to speak softly to each other. They were clearly trying to be subtle, but he wasn't an invisible man for nothing. He actually found himself smiling. If any two people deserved some happiness and comfort, it was Top and Jaz, but they clearly weren't comfortable with others being privy to this, and he understood why given the nature of their jobs and their ranks. He wondered what had happened in the couple of weeks they had been here alone, but that's all he did, wondered. It was none of his business. These two were part of his extended family and he hoped they found whatever they were looking for.

He decided to head back down to join them and did so loudly by stomping his feet, sniffing his nose and whatever other subtle noises he could make to let them know of his impending presence. He didn't want to startle them and he smiled internally when by the time he reached them, Dalton had his hands back in his pockets and Jaz was taking a few more pics on her phone. They even took a quick selfie for Jaz to send to their group chat.

Dalton took them to a café about 15 mins away for lunch. It had a beautiful outdoor area built up and amongst the trees of the mountains and they sat there for over an hour, chatting, laughing and enjoying the serenity.

After lunch they swung past the supermarket again for Amir's cooking supplies and their potential storm supplies. With a truck load of food, drinks, and an array of other things, they headed back to the cabin with the intention of barbequing for dinner, Amir style of course, and chilling out around the fire.

* * *

Late that evening they sat around the fire drinking beer, except for Amir who was on orange juice. Dalton had roughly mapped out an itinerary for the next few days after McG arrived tomorrow. Storm prevailing, he had them jam packed with activities, mostly hiking, fishing and swimming. If the storm hit, they would improvise. They were pros at that after all, at the best and worst of times.

None of them had voiced it, but they were all looking forward to seeing McG tomorrow, and that thought had Jaz texting their selfie from earlier that day to their group chat, which McG was quick to respond to.

 _ **Cute. But at least the next selfie will raise the good looking factor**_ – McG

 _ **No doubt, Patton loves a selfie**_ – Jaz

 _ **Ha Ha, I know you've missed me Jazzy**_ – McG

 _ **See ya tomorrow loser**_ – Jaz

 _ **Not if I see you first**_ – McG

Jaz just shook her head, "He's so lame."

"He's a nightmare." Dalton responded but with an affectionate shake of his head. They all loved McG, he provided them with endless amounts of entertainment, a lot of it quite innocently on his behalf.

 _Nightmare…_ Amir thought to himself. He immediately thought of the previous night with Dalton comforting Jaz after her own nightmare. He wanted to try and let them know that it was ok for them to explore whatever it was that was happening between them. If that was by comforting each other, then so be it. But the only way to do it, might be by giving them a little push.

He thought for a moment about how to broach the subject, before treading extremely timidly, "You know Jaz, I've read that nightmares can potentially be kept at bay with company and reassurance."

Jaz just looked at Amir, not responding, but wondering where he was going with this. They had rarely discussed personal topics, except when she let him in and told him about Elijah.

"I'm just wondering if you've thought about trying to fall asleep with someone to keep you company?" Amir was still treading lightly, knowing that Jaz could shut him down completely at any time and he could potentially ruin any ground he had made with her so far.

When she still didn't respond, he tried again, "Instead of one of us coming in to wake you up, maybe one of us should sleep in your room, even on the floor in your room, to help your sub-conscious feel safer."

Jaz didn't know whether to snap at Amir and tell him to mind his own goddamn business, which had it been months earlier, she already would have, or whether to listen to what he was saying and think about taking his advice.

"What do you think, Top?" When Jaz still didn't respond and he could see her still processing his thoughts, he turned his attention to their CO. He knew no matter what, Dalton wanted what was best for Jaz, he was just trying to possibly kill two birds with one stone.

Dalton was surprised by Amir's re-direct to him, but it made sense for Amir to be asking his CO the question and his opinion. He thought about what Amir had said to Jaz. They already knew that their nightmares had been kept at bay when they were sharing a bed; when they were in each other's company. It really bothered him that Jaz had had another nightmare last night and Amir's suggestion could assist with that, and with it being _Amir's suggestion_ , they wouldn't have to hide their need to comfort each other.

Dalton looked up to see Jaz looking at him, but he couldn't read her eyes. He went with his gut, "If you think it could help, it might be worth a try."

She kept looking at him, thankful that the night sky hid the reddening of her cheeks and slowly nodded, "Ok."

"Ok." Dalton acknowledged softly, "But sleep in my bed and I'll grab the floor. That way Amir can have your room, at least for sleep, instead of the couch. Amir you could also use it as your prayer room, instead of the lounge room if you want." This was Dalton's way of still leading his team. They weren't on a mission, or even on base, but it was habit for him to try and take control of the situation.

All three of them glanced around at each other to see if they were all in agreeance. They all nodded and it would seem the decision was made and Amir smiled to himself. These two seemed to need all the help they could get and he was happy to give them a little prod in the right direction. Preach would be proud of him.

* * *

Dalton closed his bedroom door that night after he had made a show of laying some blankets and a pillow on the floor for Amir to see. Looking over at Jaz, they both knew he wouldn't be sleeping on the floor. What they didn't know, was that Amir was well aware of that fact also.

Already in their sleeping attire, Jaz went to walk around to _her_ side of the bed, but before she could get far, Dalton grabbed her hand and pulled her onto his lap as he sat on the edge of the bed. In one smooth movement he caught her face between both of his hands and kissed her urgently, like he had been waiting a lifetime to do so. It had only been two days, but he had missed the feel of her lips on his. Jaz kissed him back with the same urgency, quickly changing her position so she was straddling his lap and gripping his t-shirt in her hands.

In such a short time their need for each other had escalated to the point where they almost didn't recognise themselves. The Adam Dalton they both knew in Incirlik, would never have behaved like this, would never risk his position or that or his subordinate, no matter what the personal cost. And the Jaz Khan they both knew would never have allowed herself to be so vulnerable, to allow herself to need someone or depend on someone for the sake of her happiness.

Yet, here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, they were virtually unrecognisable, or was it more that they were finally allowing someone to break down their respective walls? They would have to deal with the fall out at some stage, but they were both still very much riding the 'fuck it' wave, and just seeing where it would take them.

They pulled back from their frantic kiss to rest their foreheads against each other, both trying to catch their breath.

"I've been wanting to do that for the last two days." Dalton admitted, moving his hands from her face to around her waist so he could pull her closer against him.

"Me too." Jaz whispered, still very conscious of Amir on the other side of the wall.

"I'm making no presumptions or assumptions whatsoever, but whatever happens behind this closed door, will have to be quiet." Dalton tentatively added as he tilted his head toward the shared wall of the spare bedroom, while pulling back to look into her darkening brown eyes.

She stared back into those deep blue eyes of his and just whispered, "Copy that. Keep our noise discipline tight." She changed her grip on his t-shirt, pulled it over his head and disposed of it on the floor. She lay her hands on his chest and lent forward to kiss his neck softly, just below his ear lobe. He closed his eyes in satisfaction and as she kissed his neck a little harder and ran her teeth over the area, he let out a low moan.

"Sshhhhhh…" She reprimanded, pressing her lips against his to silence him. She was teasing him and he knew that. Two can play at that game he thought.

He moved one of his hands to reach up and cup her breast through her tank top and when she was least expecting it, he bent his head and drew her nipple into his mouth, still with her clothing intact. With his other arm still supporting her back, she threw her head back in pleasure and as she struggled to contain her own moan, Dalton quickly manoeuvred their position so she was laying on her back on the bed, with him leaning over her.

"Sshhhhhh…" he exacted his own revenge as he silenced her moan with his lips, his hand moulding her breast and pinching her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. His lips never leaving hers, the kiss became more heated as the desire between them both grew.

As they made out like teenagers, Jaz was pretty sure she could come just from Dalton teasing her nipples. She had never reacted to someone like this; so quickly, so heatedly, so wantonly. She wanted Adam, yes he was Adam in these circumstances, and her body could not deny it.

Neither could his. Jaz has let her hand trail down his chest, over his abs and down to cup him through his boxer shorts. Her hand had briefly wandered over this region the other night when they had dry humped like teenagers, but this time she rubbed her hand up and down slowly and continually over his bulge. His cock was hard and he pressed himself into her hand as she continued to kiss him hard, both swallowing each other's moans.

She increased the pace of her rubbing, feeling his cock getting even harder in her hand while his hips started to move with the rhythm she was creating. He pulled back his lips from her to catch his breath and looked at her with pupils dilated and breathing ragged. His hand had fallen from her breast, but this was about him now. He had already provided her with so much comfort and pleasure, both sexually and non-sexually, that she wanted to give this to him.

They still weren't quite ready to remove all their clothes, but she rubbed faster and faster up and down his cock, through his boxers, never breaking eye contact. She took advantage of his extremely aroused state to flip them over so Adam's was laying on his back with Jaz leaning over him. Her hand never broke contact with his cock and her eyes never broke contact with his own.

She gripped him the best she could through his shorts and as he continued to lift his hips in time with her rubbing, his eyes started to glaze over and she knew he was about to come. Leaning over to capture his lips again, she rubbed even faster, up and down his length until she felt him become momentarily rigid and she was swallowing his moan with her lips, over and over again. She continued to rub him while Adam rode out his pleasure, his hips eventually starting to slow down and the jerks abating as Jaz continued to kiss Adam languidly.

After a few more lazy kisses, both still wrapped up in the moment, they pulled back and once again rested their foreheads against each other.

"Jaz." Adam breathed out slowly, trying to catch his breath and hold her close at the same time.

She smirked and whispered, "I guess you're going to have to change your boxers again," sounding very happy with herself.

"I feel like a teenage boy." Dalton chuckled, "We're acting like teenagers."

"Yeah, but it's fun isn't it?" Jaz leant down to pepper his lips with kisses once again.

"Copy that." Dalton agreed, and let himself enjoy Jaz's lips on his once again, satisfied that they had managed to keep the noise level down so as not to disturb Amir.

* * *

The next morning as Amir greeted Jaz in the kitchen with a fresh cup of coffee, he asked her softly, "So…?"

Jaz knew he was prompting her about her nightmares, but lowered her head to try to hide any reddening of her cheeks. She nodded her thanks for the coffee and acknowledged his question.

"Nightmare free," she confirmed, "You might be on to something Amir."

Amir just smiled humbly, "Good, I'm glad. I hope it stays that way for you."

"Yeah, me too." Jaz whispered before smiling to herself subtly.

Amir didn't miss that smile, but didn't call her out on it either. He wasn't one to pry and even though he knew that there was more going on between Top and Jaz than either one of them wanted to admit, or talk about, for the moment it was their business and their business alone. They were on leave, no one was compromised and at the moment their presence was a clearly a comfort to one another.

He wondered what would happen when McG arrived later that day. This could be fun.

* * *

 **What did you think? Please let me know... Also, McG arrives in the next chapter!**

 **I'm going away for the next 9 days so there won't be another update until then. I have the next few chapters written, but I haven't edited them yet.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi everyone. I'm back from overseas and wanted to post this ASAP. Please excuse any mistakes, my jet lag is hindering my editing. Hope you all enjoy!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... but I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

Late that afternoon Dalton returned from the airport with McG in tow, who strode into the cabin like he had lived there all his life. His larger than life presence immediately filled the cabin with a sense of fun and light heartedness and both Amir and Jaz smiled brightly when they saw him.

"Best get back in that kitchen buddy, I'm starving." McG chided while he clasped Amir's hand and clapped him on the back.

Amir just snorted, "You're always starving, but I think you'll like dinner."

"Jazzy!" McG exclaimed as he picked her up and spun her around.

"Put me down you big umph." Jaz retorted, but she wasn't angry. As soon as he put her back on the floor, he pulled her in for a real hug and kissed her forehead, genuinely happy to be reunited with four fifths of his team.

Jaz hugged him back and turned her scowl into a smile. She was just as happy to be reunited with McG, no matter how much shit she liked to hang on him.

"I'll give you the tour." Dalton offered and led McG away briefly.

"Fuck Top, this bathroom has a double shower, _a double shower_! Bet you've put that to good use over the years." McG baited him while wriggling his eyebrows.

This caught Jaz's attention and she just waited for Dalton to respond.

Dalton didn't take the bait and just gave him a sardonic look and stated, "No showering sandals in my shower. It's pristine and your mold mittens will not be changing that, we clear?"

"Aye, aye, Captain."

"This place is like a palace, definitely not rustic." McG had continued.

"Yeah, yeah, so I keep hearing." Dalton sighed.

"Amir," McG called out as went back into the living room, "Top filled me in on the sleeping arrangements on the drive back. Feel like giving up the bed for your much taller friend?"

Amir just looked up quickly, "Nope."

"You don't even wanna think about it?" McG questioned.

"Nope."

Jaz watched the two of them as their familiar banter picked right back up where they had left off. She couldn't help but wonder what McG's reaction was when Top had told him about the sleeping arrangements, but she was glad she wasn't present for that conversation. Not that McG's reaction would have bothered her either way, but she didn't know if she would have been able to stop her face turning red, especially when she thought about being in Dalton's bed and what they had done in there.

She would have to give Top another thank you for saving her from that conversation. He was definitely racking them up.

Dalton walked over to the fridge and got three beers out. When he handed one to Jaz, her eyes caught his briefly and the look in them was thanks enough for him.

He knew it would be easier to tell McG the news himself. McG is pretty unflappable and didn't even bat an eyelid. He just accepted it and had told Top that if that was best for Jaz, that's all he cared about. McG and Jaz acted and fought like siblings, but underneath it all, at the root of it all, their affection for each other ran deep.

Dalton held Jaz's gaze a second or two longer and just slightly nodded his head. They just had another one of their silent conversations; no words, questions or explanations needed.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Dalton was showing McG around outside the cabin with Patton, while Jaz helped Amir in the kitchen.

Towards the end of their deployment she had started helping him occasionally with his cooking and she had found it therapeutic. Amir had no expectations of her. He didn't force conversation, he wasn't confrontational and he always seemed to know when to push or not to push. It was those qualities that changed Jaz's opinion of him.

They had just finished laying everything on the dining table when Dalton and McG came back in.

Instantly recognising the scent, McG yelled with delight, "Chaka Khan!"

Amir grinned, "Thought I'd make your favourite for your arrival, and who doesn't love breakfast for dinner?"

"Thanks, it feels like weeks since I've had this." McG expressed emphatically.

"That's because it has been." Dalton rolled his eyes, but good naturedly.

Jaz just looked around the table happily. Three of her guys, all back together and as if they hadn't just spent weeks apart. Sitting around the table like this, they could almost be back in Incirlik. Except Top didn't have any paper work to prioritise, McG had his shirt on, Amir had a lot more cooking amenities available, they were surrounded by a large, lush mountain range, and of course, they were missing Preach. Also, she had a lot of new memories involving Top now, which she certainly hadn't had the last time they were deployed.

"Looks like that storm front is heading here tomorrow, we might be cabin bound." Dalton explained as they dug into Amir's Shakshuka.

"Good job I bought that bottle of tequila with me." McG said proudly, earning him another eye roll from both Top and Jaz.

* * *

After dinner, McG nominated himself to do the dishes, which shocked them all, but he was claiming to have turned over a new leaf. Amir tidied the kitchen with him, while Dalton and Jaz went outside to do a check before the storm hit and to give Patton a quick run outside.

They walked up to the jetty on the lake where they had been fishing, just for Patton to stretch his legs. Jaz took the opportunity to ask Dalton about McG while they were by themselves and out of ear shot.

"So, McG didn't bat an eyelid about the sleeping arrangements?" Jaz ferreted.

"Nope. He just wants to do what's best for you. He even offered to change it up and sleep on the floor with you a few nights."

Jaz just looked at him and he smiled cheekily and took a step closer, "Don't worry, I told him I had it, but I'd let him know if that changed."

She smiled back at him and took a step even closer so they were toe-to-toe, "I'll keep that in mind if you start snoring."

Dalton snorted, "Well we both know McG snores for the whole of the army, so good luck with that." Which they both had a chuckle at, before gazing into each other's eyes.

"So, _have_ you put the double shower to good use over the years?" Jaz attempted to ask aloofly.

Dalton just stared back at her, holding her gaze for a long moment before whispering, "Not yet…"

Out there on the jetty, where so much emotion had been shared so far, it was hard not to feel the electricity between them. Face-to-face, they breathed in the scent of each other and stared at each other's lips, wondering if they could take the risk of tasting the others lips. Dusk was just setting and through the trees the jetty wasn't visible to the cabin, but the thought of Amir and McG just beyond those trees held them back. Just.

They only had to make it through another few hours, before they would be back in Dalton's bed, and out of eye sight and ear shot, mostly, from the others.

* * *

They ended up watching movies that night, and to keep things neutral, Jaz sat on the couch with McG, who she had been known to fall asleep on in the past. This often happened on base during quieter times. The team would gather and watch a few movies and inevitably, a few of them ended up asleep.

As predicted both McG and Jaz fell asleep, Jaz's head on McG's shoulder with his head resting on top of hers, snoring.

Before waking either of them, Amir made sure to both video this and take a photo to send through to Preach to show that not much had changed. Dalton had to wake up McG in order to lift Jaz into his arms and carry her into his bedroom. Having stirred, McG watched and couldn't help but notice the gentle way in which Top carried Jaz. It was almost reverently, as if she might break. He stared after them and tilted his head as he observed their behaviour. He tried to catch Amir's eye, but he was too busy texting on his phone, which wasn't like Amir at all.

He looked up as Top came to sit back down on the couch, obviously not going to bed himself just yet.

"Jazzy been catching up on some sleep while she's been here?" He asked.

Dalton shrugged a little and ran his hand through his beard, "Yeah, a bit. There's been a couple of nightmares, but other than that she's been ok."

'Well she needs the rest, she had a pretty shit run on deployment this time around." McG observed. Being the team medic he always needed to make sure his team mates were ok, even when they were at home.

Dalton nodded in agreeance, trying not to give anything away regarding what was happening between himself and Jaz through his facial expressions.

The three guys sat and watched the end of the movie, before Dalton decided to call it a night, so that "Jaz didn't succumb to nightmares." Which was partly true.

Amir and McG watched him walk into his bedroom and close the door behind him, before exchanging bemused glances and shaking their heads. They didn't voice anything, but with that look, they didn't need to.

* * *

Very early the next morning, before the sun had even risen, Jaz woke up from another nightmare free sleep with her face buried against Dalton's chest and his arms wrapped around her. His blonde chest hair was tickling her face, but his warmth and his own personal scent made her feel safe, like he always made her feel safe.

She flattened one of her hands on his chest and glanced upward to his face to determine if he was still asleep. He shifted slightly, but gave her no response, so she leant forward to lightly place her lips on his chest in a soft kiss. Still no response so she placed a kiss in the hollow of this throat, and then once again on his neck. Still nothing.

She then placed a feather light kiss to his lips and smiled as he stirred and lazily spoke, "Good morning," into her lips. She pressed another kiss to his lips and smiled into his mouth as one of his hands buried itself in the hair at the back of her head and held her against him, deepening the kiss.

Waking up like this was literally bliss, for the both of them.

"I guess I fell asleep on the couch again?" Jaz whispered as she pulled back from him.

"Uh huh, so unsociable." Dalton teased with a sleep roughened voice.

"Well I can try and be a little more sociable now…" She trailed off as she looked up at him through her long eyelashes. She leant forward to kiss his chest again and he responded by tilting her chin up to meet his gaze and placing a longer, possessive kiss on her lips.

They kissed languidly for a couple of minutes, pulling each other close and just appreciating waking up with each other and enjoying exploring whatever this non-labelled situation was.

Just as the kiss started to take a more heated turn, a massive clap of thunder made them jump apart. Once again their rapid reactions to loud noises kicked in and it took them a few seconds to realise that it was the weather, and not the threat of enemies.

"Storm's here, I better go let Patton out quickly." He gave Jaz a quick kiss and then got up out of bed, quickly ruffled the blankets on the floor so it looked like he had slept down there and padded out into the lounge room where McG was sleeping on the couch. Of course the thunder hadn't woken him up.

It was still pitch black outside, so Dalton didn't stay outside for too long, but with the storm starting this early, he was hopeful it might blow over early too. That way they could get out of the cabin in the afternoon.

* * *

A couple of hours and a few coffees later, the team were all up and about, albeit indoors.

While the storm raged around them, Amir was chopping vegetables and making preparations for dinner that evening. McG was watching a baseball game on the TV while Dalton and Jaz were both reading.

The constant loud rumbling of thunder, the lightning flashes and heavy downpour of rain had Patton sitting up on the couch next to Jaz, his head resting in her lap as she scratched him behind the ears comfortingly, with her focus still on the book she was reading.

Being stuck inside like this, in close quarters didn't bother them in the slightest, in fact it felt quite normal, but Dalton wanted to show them around a bit and hoped the storm didn't hang around all day.

When Amir finished up in the kitchen and came to join them in the lounge room, he picked up his phone and immediately started texting.

McG looked at him out of the corner of his eye and called him out on it, "Why you glued to your phone so much Amir? You usually give me and Jaz shit for being phone addicts."

"Just trying to keep up with you two."

McG frowned at the short dismissal, which made him even more curious, "Who you texting then?"

"Just a friend."

"A friend? Or a _friend_?" McG snooped with extra emphasis, suddenly becoming a lot more interested.

Jaz looked up from her book and grinned, which McG caught sight of.

"It is a _friend_ …" McG directed this towards Jaz and she just grinned even harder.

"C'mon Jazzy, spill." When Jaz gave him donuts, he turned his attention to Dalton, "Top, you know who this is?"

Dalton didn't even look up from his book, having followed along with the conversation, but not acknowledging it until now, "Yep."

"That's it? You won't tell?"

" _If_ there is a _friend_ , it is Amir's choice to tell you, not mine." Dalton reasoned with his commanding officer voice.

"Fine, whatever." McG sighed. He would find out sooner or later, he would make it his mission.

If it was even possible, the rain outside was even heavier now, beating down against the roof and windows of the cabin. The noise was deafening. Dalton checked the weather radar, and although it looked catastrophic for now, it did appear to be blowing over by early afternoon. He started to formulate a plan in his head.

* * *

Sure enough, just after midday, it was a different day outside. The sun was shining and the skies were blue, but the humidity level was through the roof.

Dalton disappeared outside with Patton by his side, only to return about 20 mins later with all sorts of fishing paraphernalia that he left on the porch, before re-entering his cabin.

"Alright, how do we all feel about some fly fishing this afternoon? The best fishing is after a storm and I know the perfect place." He attempted to rally the troops.

After being stuck inside all morning, they were all keen.

"Pack a swim suit too, we can go for a dip." Dalton sub consciously directed this to Jaz, as his eyes darkened remembering she had bought a new bikini the other day. She stared back at him with glimmer of a smile on her face before heading into the bathroom to change.

Dalton drove them to a spot by the river about 20 minutes away, and got them all set up with rods and wading equipment.

Jaz was keen to fish again, after a successful outing on their last fishing attempt. She got straight into the river and Dalton showed her how to manoeuvre the longer rod. She was really enjoying this new found pastime and was glad she had persisted after her unsuccessful first attempt.

Dalton also guided Amir and McG through the basics, and they picked it up quickly. He wouldn't expect anything less from these guys. They were an Omega team for a reason.

They spent a couple of hours fishing in the river. The water was fairly calm after the morning's storm and just enjoying this cathartic pastime together, had them relaxed and happy. As the humidity continued to soar, they ditched the fishing rods on the bank and stripped down to their swim suits before letting the cool water dissipate their heated bodies.

"Now this is heaven." McG signed as he floated on his back, letting the water hold his weight.

Jaz was wading in the shallower water, just enjoying the peacefulness as Dalton waded over to her. Amir and McG were a little bit further down, having let the current float them away.

"So, umm – no new bikini today huh?" Dalton teased. Not that he was complaining about the one piece bathing suit Jaz had on, he just knew it wasn't new.

"Uh, no." Jaz ducked her head as she answered, and Dalton frowned, immediately sensing that something was wrong.

"You ok? Talk to me."

"I'm fine."

"Jaz." He said dryly, knowing her well enough to know when something was bothering her. And Jaz knew Dalton well enough that he probably wouldn't let up until she talked.

"It's just, umm – all of my scars are on display in the bikini. I didn't think it through." She couldn't meet his eyes and kept her head lowered, suddenly becoming fascinated with the current of the river around her legs.

Dalton's heart tugged at that. He had seen a lot of her scars already. Hell, she had her top off laying beneath him a couple of nights ago, but that had been in darkness, and he had only ever seen her in a one piece bathing suit. He hadn't thought she was bothered, she always seemed so strong.

"Hey – Jaz, look at me." He pleaded.

She just shook her head and kept her eyes on the water. She was not going to let the tears fall out here. Not with the other guys not too far away.

Dalton spoke again, quietly, "Jaz, those scars are a testament to you and your strength; to your courage. Yeah, you went through hell getting them. All of them. But you fought like hell to survive them, and you did. They might have bad memories attached to them, but they're also a reminder that you won; that they didn't stop you, no matter who or what gave them to you. And I know that I, for one, am super proud of your strength, of your tenacity and of your resilience. You're a survivor and those scars represent that."

When Jaz still kept her gaze lowered, struggling to contain the emotions bubbling inside of her, he was desperate to touch her, desperate to wrap her up in his arms, desperate to kiss away all her pain. So he spoke again softly, "You couldn't be more beautiful in my eyes, Jaz."

With those words, Jaz slowly raised her eyes to meet those beautiful blue orbs of his; searching them and seeing nothing but truth and honesty in their reflection. She still couldn't speak for the fear of breaking down, but she didn't need to. She would give anything to be in his arms right then, but she settled for holding his intense gaze, believing everything that his eyes were conveying right then.

Just down the river, Amir and McG were both pretending not to be watching them. They couldn't hear the conversation, but they could see the way Jaz and Dalton were looking at each other. Like they always looked at each other. Once again, they exchanged bemused glances before going back to enjoying the feel of floating down the river.

* * *

That evening, they all indulged in one of Amir's new recipes, lamb kafta, tabbouleh and manakish, a type of flatbread. It was delicious and they all enjoyed it, especially McG. After dinner he brought the bottle of tequila out of his bag ready for a big night.

Despite the groans from Dalton and Jaz, they knew they would partake in the shots, while Amir would once again look on and laugh at them, then probably laugh at them again the next morning.

"Don't write yourself off completely if you want to go to the waterfall tomorrow." Dalton reminded McG, "It take a couple of hours to hike there."

"Not a problem, Top. I always bounce back quickly," making the other three laugh hysterically since he was notorious for his hangovers. He just shrugged his shoulders with his hands up in the air, and laughed along with them.

A few shots down and Amir sent a photo of the three downing tequila to their group chat for Preach to see.

 _ **McG must be close to passing out, how many has he had?**_ – Preach

 _ **More than he can count**_ – Amir

 _ **Hey, I've only had three**_ – McG

 _ **Yep, sounds about right**_ – Preach

 _ **Next one is for you Preach**_ – Jaz

 _ **You should all come out here. I'm ready for some alcohol**_ – Preach

 _ **I'm there, just say when**_ – McG

 _ **We'll figure something out**_ – Preach

 _ **Sounds good**_ – Top

 _ **Make sure you've got a bucket for McG, Top. Don't want him vomiting in your palace**_ – Preach

Dalton just shook his head. He would never hear the end of this, his _rustic_ cabin.

McG saw Amir texting away on his phone again, but it couldn't be to their group chat because there weren't messages appearing on his screen.

"Amir, do you even have any friends to text so much?"

Luckily, Amir knew that this was just McG banter, not a nasty jibe.

"Well yeah, more than just my Mom anyway." Amir threw back at him.

"Ha ha," McG retorted, but good naturedly. It was clear that Amir was still not willing to tell him who it was on the other end. He was pretty sure he'd find out eventually.

* * *

A couple more shots later and McG kicked the others off his bed, the couch, and told them if he had to be up early, he needed his beauty sleep.

Jaz and Dalton were in his room, both slightly tipsy from the tequila, but still very much of their own mind. Jaz was removing her earrings in front of a dresser of draws when Dalton walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. His touch made her shiver, and she could feel his thumb rubbing over a spot on her shoulder where she knew a scar inflicted from Tehran was located.

She stood still and as she felt his soft lips press against that same spot, she closed her eyes and inhaled, her heart thundering in her chest. She felt him press his lips against another scar, and another, until he had covered the whole area of her back exposed by her tank top.

He gently turned her around and ran his thumbs over similar scars near her collar bone, but instead of kissing them, he caught her lips with his and gave her a long lingering kiss, which she immediately responded to.

When he pulled back he rested his forehead against her and whispered, "That's what I wanted to do at the river today."

"Me too." Jaz admitted, once again feeling safe in his arms.

They got into bed, lying on their sides facing each other.

Dalton reached his hand out to trace her collarbone again, and her skin tingled all over. So much so, that she immediately leant over to kiss him, one of her hands cupping his cheek, with her fingers running through his beard.

He moved his hand down her arm, down her side and rested it on her hip, pushing her tank top and sleep shorts aside so he was caressing her skin. His fingers moved across her skin, tickling her and causing her to squirm a little, but the feel of his hand on her skin was electrifying.

Still kissing, she threaded her fingers from his beard into his hair, and pulled him close, holding him against her, so that she rolled onto her back. He ended up leaning over her and the hand on her hip, moved to the flat of her stomach and caressed the skin below her belly button.

Pulling back momentarily to look her in the eye, only to kiss her again with passion, he let his hand drift lower and lower, softly cupping her through her shorts before applying a little bit of pressure. He pulled back to lick the sensitive spot on her neck and he heard her gasp slightly.

Holding his head against her neck, with her lips right next to his ear, she whispered, "Adam, please touch me."

He wasn't sure if it was the use of his first name, or the longing he could hear in her voice, or both, but he had never heard anything so sexy and he didn't waste any time in sliding his hand beneath her shorts. His need to pleasure her far outweighed his worry of his two mates on the other sides of his walls. They would just have to be quiet.

Adam's hand kept moving lower until his fingers slid over her already wet slit and slipped between her folds. As his middle finger located her clit and started to slowly rub up and down over it, Jaz moaned and he quickly moved his lips from her neck to her lips to swallow it.

"Shhhhhhhhh, remember." He spoke into her mouth.

"Mmmhmm." Was all Jaz could respond.

His finger kept moving against her, up and down, long slow strokes, as her hips started moving in rhythm with his fingers. Jaz's eyes were closed in pleasure and Adam watched her face as he could see the bliss starting to build.

He started to make circles around her clit, still slowly to begin with, before starting to build up the speed. He predicted her moan this time and before she could let it out, he crashed his lips against hers, kissing her deeply and thoroughly.

Jaz was on fire. Having Adam's fingers touch the most sensitive part of her body, building up her ecstasy, she had never been so turned on. She had thought about this happening over the years, but never in her wildest dreams did she think it would actually happen.

She continued to kiss him back, feeling the waves of pleasure gradually building and her hips tried to keep up with the rhythm of his fingers. When the pleasure felt almost too much to bare, he increased the speed of his finger against her clit even more, kissed her deeper than ever and in no time at all she was reaching her crescendo. Pleasure flooded her entire body and she held his face against hers, making sure he muffled her cries, as her body continued to spasm through her orgasm.

His finger remained on her clit while the waves start to slow down and their kisses became less urgent. Her eyes had been closed, but when she opened them, she found those blue eyes of his studying her face, as if searching for something. When his eyes locked on her gaze, they seemed to find what they were looking for and softened with something she couldn't quite read.

Whatever it was, she had the feeling that it would be getting harder and harder to keep their hands off each other, especially knowing the kind of pleasure they were capable of sharing together.

* * *

 **I just love McG's energy, I think he helps to really hold this team together. What did you think of this chapter? I know it's still a slow burn, but I did warn you about that early on ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm posting this a bit earlier than expected this week because I won't have chance to post on the weekend. Hope you all enjoy :)**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of its characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

All four of them, and Patton, left the next morning to start the hike to the waterfall.

Despite last night's tequila, McG had no hangover to speak of, and had quite a pep in his step because of that. He was eager to see some sights and to share it with three of his favourite people.

Amir had his fancy camera along with him again, and stopped frequently to take photos of… everything. So much so, that McG started to give him shit about it, "Amir, it's like a thousand degrees out here. I wanna get to that waterfall before I evaporate."

That didn't stop Amir, if anything he slowed down even more. Dalton offered to stay with him, to let him take as many photos as he wanted and he sent Jaz and McG ahead.

"You remember the way, Jaz?"

Jaz just tilted her head at him without saying anything.

"Of course you do. We'll meet you there, hopefully won't be too long." Dalton told them with a small smile directed at Jaz.

McG watched Jaz return that small smile, before they took off ahead, eager to get in the water.

After walking together for a few minutes, with a little bit of distance put between them and Top and Amir, McG looked at Jaz out the corner of his eyes.

"So what's going on with you and Top?" He asked brazenly. Never one for being backward in coming forward, he decided directness was the best way to tackle this.

Jaz just looked up at him frowning, "What are you talking about?"

"C'mon Jazzy, we're spies." McG just raised his eyebrows at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jaz just shakes her head indifferently, hoping like hell she looks a lot more calm than she feels. She had been worried about Amir picking up on something, given that he was a master at what he did. McG however, she thought they might be safe from. It would appear not, and she should have known better.

 _They were an Omega Team._

Regardless, she was going to play dumb for as long as she could. Neither she nor Dalton had things figured out and she didn't want to give weight to whatever they may be, without having talked anything through with him.

"Ok," McG put his hands up in surrender, "But you should know that none of us would care if something was happening. We've all seen you two together; you're different with each other than with anyone else. Not saying that's a bad thing, we can just see a connection."

Preach's words from the surveillance van in Seville flashed back to Jaz just then, _"You don't have to apologise for making a connection with someone. That kind of thing is not common, it shouldn't be ignored no matter how difficult the circumstances may be."_

Jaz suddenly realised that they all probably thought the same thing. They all thought there was something between her and Top. They weren't wrong, but she felt vulnerable knowing that she must have been an open book for them all to pick up on it.

She still wasn't going to acknowledge it to anyone just yet. Whatever this label-less circumstance was, she and Top had to figure that out together, before anyone else did.

When she gave no response to McG, he knew that topic was done – for now. He knew better than to badger her about something she didn't want to talk about. At the end of the day, he wanted to see Jaz happy. He knew she's had more than her fair share of shit in her life, and if Top made her happy, he couldn't think of a better guy for her.

* * *

Jaz and McG had pushed on and got to the waterfall a full half an hour before Dalton and Amir arrived with Patton.

They were already in the water, having literally run in after quickly dumping their stuff, stripping off their clothes and finding relief from the heat. McG currently stood with his head right under the fall of water, letting the coolness wash all over him, while Jaz was swimming close by, keeping as much of her body underwater as possible, to take the heat out her skin.

Once Dalton and Amir joined them in the water, an epic splash fight broke out, started by none other than McG himself. He was such a big kid, another one of his lovable traits, and couldn't help himself.

The storm from the previous day had damaged some of the walking tracks leading to the waterfall, and as a result, there was hardly anyone else around today. Even Patton joined them in the water, proudly swimming his doggie paddle out to where the team were congregating.

"What? Patton swims now?" McG exclaimed.

"Sure does." Dalton answered proudly.

From where they stood in the water, Dalton pointed out a couple of things in their surrounds to McG and Amir, including another lookout at the top of the waterfall, which they were both keen to check out after some lunch.

"Amir, we need to go and see if you can stand in those rock pools." McG reminded Amir of the text conversation after Top had first sent photos of the waterfall, the day Jaz arrived at his cabin.

Amir just rolled his eyes, but decided to indulge McG otherwise he would never let up. They both made their way over to the rock pools and Dalton and Jaz laughed as they watched McG pretend to throw Amir in one of the larger pools. These two could definitely pass as brothers; they certainly acted like it.

Jaz and Dalton swam towards the rock pools to get a closer look and as Jaz stood up out of the water and started to walk towards the others, she heard a soft expletive leave Dalton's mouth, "Fuck".

She turned around to look at him and caught him staring at her, or trying not to stare at her, but not being very successful. She was wearing her new bikini, and he had just caught sight of it. It was a deep burgundy in colour, with two strings holding up the top behind her neck and back. The bottoms were just the right cut to show off her long, toned and tanned legs, and were also only being held up with strings tied at her waist.

Dalton could not believe that of all days, Jaz had decided to wear her new bikini today. Here, with the other guys, where he couldn't ogle her, couldn't touch her, couldn't kiss her, couldn't… well everything else. Fuck, she looked amazing, more than amazing!

Jaz knew the effect she was having on Dalton right then, and knew exactly why he was staying below the water level for a few more minutes. He'd put her at ease about her scars the day and night before, so she thought she would take the bikini out for a test drive, and she was hoping it would make Adam react like that.

She didn't want to draw attention to them and whatever they were, but she sure was having fun teasing him. Seeing Captain Adam Dalton lost for words, uncomfortable and clearly in discomfort, was kind of fun.

Jaz gave him a quick knowing, but sassy smile, before turning back to Amir and McG, leaving Dalton to have to once again stay underwater until the tell-tale signs of his desire had… gone down.

* * *

Turns out Amir _could_ stand in the rock pools, much to McG's disgust. There was even photographic evidence to send to Preach.

They sat and had some lunch and layed out and soaked up the sun on their towels. Thankfully for Dalton, Jaz had put a cover-up on for now so he didn't have to go and hide out in the water again.

Amir got his camera out and started to put on his shoes. He motioned to McG, "C'mon, are we going to climb up to that lookout?"

"Let me just put my shoes on." McG sat himself up and started to get ready himself.

"And a shirt." Jaz added bluntly.

McG grinned at her, "Am I making you uncomfortable Jazzy?"

"Just being sun smart… and I don't want to vomit up my lunch, I need the energy to hike back out later." She shrugged dryly.

McG put his hand on his heart and pretended to be wounded, "You kill me Jaz."

She grinned at him and waved him and Amir off as they started walking in the direction of the path leading to the lookout. She hadn't been up to that lookout herself, but she was taking a tiny opportunity to be alone with Dalton.

She picked up her own sun screen and took her cover-up off. Looking at Dalton, she held the sunscreen out to him, "Speaking of being sun smart… can you do my back?"

Dalton looked up at her from where he was sitting on his towel with his tongue between his teeth. He slowly got to his feet, grabbed the sunscreen from her hand, purposely lingering on her wrist as he did so. She turned around and the moment she felt his hands across the top of her back, her eyes closed. Just his touch was enough to send her into a state of bliss. He moved his hands across her back and shoulders in long, slow strokes, trying desperately to control his body's reactions to just touching her skin, unsuccessfully.

He threw the sunscreen back on her towel, and with a gruff, "We're going swimming," grabbed Jaz's hand and started walking towards the water.

Jaz was just as ready to be in that water, and as soon as they were waist deep, they immediately began swimming towards the body of water between the cascading waterfall and its rock interface. It was the spot they had been in the last time they came here, alone.

No sooner had they reached their spot, than Dalton immediately grabbed Jaz to pull her close, lifted her so her legs wrapped around his waist and kissed her open mouthed and hard, as if she was his lifeline. Jaz clung tight to him and kissed him back just as hard and just as eager.

Dalton walked with Jaz wrapped around him, lips never leaving hers, hands on her ass, until her back collided with the rock face. He tried not to be too rough to ensure she didn't end up with any more scars on her back, but it was a struggle. He wanted to be as close to her as possible and as he lowered her legs to the ground, still chest deep in water, he ground his hips into hers. She could feel him, rock hard, pressed up against her.

He held her face in his hands, just staring deeply into her eyes, not quite believing the all-encompassing effect Jaz could have on him. It was as if every fibre in his body was magnetised to hers, and he couldn't get enough. He captured her lips again and again, their kisses deep and passionate.

He pressed himself into her again.

"See what you do to me?" He moaned into her mouth, in between their desperate kisses, tongues battling for dominance.

They ran their hands all over each other's bodies, and Dalton teasingly stroked his fingers along the top seam of her bikini bottoms, low on her stomach. Pulling back to look her in the eyes, he moved his fingers beneath her bikini and slid down to finger her clit. The immediate pleasure had Jaz's eyes glazing over and after stroking her a few more times, he moved even lower to slide his middle finger inside of her, making her groan.

Deciding that they were in this together, Jaz put her hand around his neck for balance and as she did so, moved her hand down inside his board shorts to grasp his cock in her hand. It was Dalton's turn to groan this time, especially when she ran her thumb across the tip of his cock, before stroking down his length.

They began stroking each other slowly and Jaz leaned forward to place a hot kiss on the pulse point of his neck. When she pulled back, they both increased their rhythm and Dalton inserted another finger inside her, intensifying her pleasure, causing her to crash her lips back onto his for an anchor. She increased the speed of her strokes up and down his cock, as he kept up the same pace of his strokes inside her.

Faster and faster they pumped each other, whirlpools of sensations building in each of them. Her grip on him becoming firmer as he stroked her inner walls more urgently, neither of them willing to come without the other.

The wave of sensations they were both feeling, the feel of the cool water taming their hot skin and their deep seated desire for each other eventually took over. Their mutual gratification becoming so frenzied they pulled their lips back from each other as they lost control, their hands frantically moving against the other.

Whirlpools of sensations turned into tidal waves, as they both cried out their ecstasy, thankful the roar of the cascading water behind them drowned out their mutual release.

Standing with their foreheads resting against each other, ripples still rolling off them and still touching each other intimately, Dalton whispered, "Did I mention that I fucking love this bikini?"

Jaz smiled at him knowingly, but with no energy to answer him yet. They both became limp in each other's arms after coming down from their orgasms, and their breathing was slowly returning to a more natural rate. Pulling their hands away from each other, Jaz put both her arms around his neck to hold herself up, joined her lips with his for a long kiss and pulled back, "Did I mention that I fucking love what you do to me?"

Dalton kissed her back, several times, slowly and deliberately. The desperation from earlier had been alleviated with their mutual pleasure and they took a few moments just to bask in the moment before they had to emerge from the waterfall and swim back into the real world; where their teammates would soon be re-joining them.

* * *

Amir and McG had reached the lookout point after a steep climb, but the view at the top was worth it.

McG whistled in appreciation, while Amir started snapping away with his camera. Top had definitely been right all these years, the Blue Ridge Mountains were magnificent.

After looking at their surroundings from all the different angles the lookout provided, they both stood against the railing, looking down at the lake below them. From this angle the actual waterfall wasn't visible, but they could hear its roar, cascading beneath them.

"As soon as we get back down there, I'm getting straight back in that water." McG said longingly, feeling the heat after the climb and Amir nodded in agreeance.

Just as they started to pull back from the railing, they saw Jaz and Dalton swim into view.

"Where did they appear from?" McG wondered.

"They must have been under the cascade or behind the waterfall."

McG had a smile spread slowly across his face, "What would they be doing there?" He asked presumptuously.

Amir shrugged nonchalantly, "Swimming."

"I doubt it," McG answered confidently.

"What else would they be doing?" Amir asked innocently, trying to bait McG into speaking his mind.

They looked at each other and after a moment, slow smiles spread across both their faces. They both knew they were thinking the same thing. It didn't need to be said.

After another brief glance down at their Captain and sniper, both now standing in the lake with Patton swimming out to them, they turned around and started the climb back down, eager to cool off and enjoy this beautiful part of the world.

* * *

That evening, they all took it in turns to shower after a long, and sweaty day of sunscreen and the great outdoors.

Amir cooked them another delicious feast of Sambusak, a Lebanese pie that he had filled with lamb and vegetables and a Fatoush Salad containing fresh vegetables and homemade flat bread. As always, it was incredible and the others all cleared their plates, with McG unsurprisingly going back for seconds.

"So what's on the agenda for tomorrow, Top?" McG asked, swallowing his last mouthful of food.

"Well it's Amir's last full day with us, is that right?" Dalton directed his question to Amir.

"Yeah, back to DC the day after tomorrow."

"DC? What's in DC?" McG was confused.

"I think you mean, _who_ is in DC?" Jaz teased.

"So the mystery _friend_ is in DC, huh?" McG confirmed.

Amir just looked down, still not willing to give McG his answer, so McG continued, "The only women I know in DC are the Deputy Director and Hannah. And not to be exclusive, there's Noah of course, if he takes your fancy."

Still no answer from Amir, but Jaz and Dalton were trying to supress smiles, while McG just took a second to study each of their faces. All of a sudden realisation dawned on him, thinking back to their mission in Colombia. He should have known days ago.

"Hannah. It's Hannah isn't it?" He couldn't help but grin widely and as the tips of Amir's ears began to turn pink, he added, "You sly dog, how'd you manage that, you're too short for her."

Amir finally looked up with a small, but proud smile on his face, "It would appear that Hannah appreciates a bit of culture and fine dining, and I clearly have that to offer in spades. Height isn't everything.

"No, but it's something." McG just teased back, before relenting, "Seriously though man, that's great; I'm happy for you. At least it won't cause a problem on the team, living on the other side of the world from each other for a big chunk of the year right?"

He was met with an awkward silence and after he realised what he had said, he and Amir exchanged glances and they couldn't help notice that Jaz and Dalton both averted their eyes and looked anywhere but at each other or anyone else.

Always one for keeping the peace, Amir decided to change the topic and answer Dalton's question from earlier, "How about some more fishing Top? I really enjoyed that."

Dalton looked up at Amir, extremely thankful for the change in topic, "Absolutely, I know another great spot for it. I thought the four of us could go out for dinner and drinks in town too, since it'll be our last night. Give you a night off from the kitchen." He joked to Amir.

"Wooooo, drinks! Amir's driving tomorrow night." McG was clearly ready to party.

The other three just shook their heads and laughed at him, even thought they were all looking forward to it.

* * *

They moved outside to build a fire and make s'mores, enjoying each other's company and just engaging in the easy chit chat that made them such a great team and great friends.

McG asked Amir question after question about Hannah and their blossoming romance. Amir tried hard to keep it close to his chest, but couldn't help indulging in a few answers.

He was excited about his prospects with Hannah, and so far he was extremely happy with the way things have been progressing. He would miss his team when he went back to DC, but he was also elated to spend some more time with her, and getting to know her even more. He thought for sure when they first met face-to-face in Colombia, that McG and his apparent irresistible charm would win over Hannah. When she slipped Amir her phone number in DC after their deployment was over, he didn't want to waste any time.

He felt a little guilty that he was relatively free to pursue Hannah, without having to worry about the job or the ramifications. He glanced over at Jaz and Top, who were in the middle of assembling s'mores and hoped that they could somehow find their way to each other. They were in such a difficult situation, not that they knew he was aware, and he didn't envy that one bit.

McG finally changed the topic and spoke to Jaz, laughing as he did so, "Hey Jaz, remember that time we were making s'mores on base and we put a bug in Elijah's before giving it to him? I'll never forget his face when he got to the crunchy bits."

Jaz laughed with him and Dalton smiled too. Jaz spoke sentimentally, "He would never eat anything that he hadn't either made himself or watched someone else make after that. So precious."

"Yeah." McG agreed, also feeling sentimental. "It must be weird for you without him on leave this time round huh? You always spent it with him. You gonna go and see his family?"

Jaz felt herself stiffen slightly at the question. She had been tossing up with whether to go and see the Vallins' or not. She hadn't made any further plans since being at the cabin. She didn't know whether to move on, or stay here with Dalton. She would probably have to chat to him about that sooner or later.

"To be honest, I don't know what my plans are right now." Jaz answered McG.

"Well if it were me, I'd be staying in these mountains as long as I could. It's friggen amazing here. I'll give it to you Top, it certainly lives up to all of your raving over the last few years. Glad I finally got here." McG lifted his beer in cheers to Dalton, which Dalton returned.

Jaz and Dalton were both separately processing what McG had just said.

From Jaz's point of view, she would love to stay at the cabin with Dalton as much as she could, but should she? They still weren't labelling anything, but should she go before it gets even harder to leave, before she falls any harder for him?

From Dalton's point of view, he would love Jaz to stay as long as she wants. But is that being selfish, not wanting to share her with anyone else? Or should she leave before he gets too reliant on her being around, of being able to snuggle in bed at night, and doing what they've been doing behind closed doors, and under water?

It was something they were both going to have to address at some stage, but not while Amir and McG were here.

* * *

Later that evening, when they had all headed off to bed, Dalton came up behind Jaz as she was standing in front of the mirror brushing her hair. He placed his hands on her hips and leant over and kissed her shoulder.

He caught her gaze in the mirror and whispered in her eye, "I can't stop thinking about you in that bikini today," he confessed.

She kept her eyes locked with his in the mirror, "I can't stop thinking about what that bikini led to today."

"Please wear it again sometime." Dalton had a small plea in his voice, something he didn't often let himself indulge in

She raised her eyebrows at him and smiled, eyes still locked in the mirror, "You really do love it, huh?"

His response was to spin her around and capture her lips with his, kissing her softly, but deeply.

They made their way over to the bed and after getting under the covers, turned to each other again, kissing and caressing each other until they fell asleep in one another's arms, exhausted after a long day.

* * *

 **Hope you liked this chapter! There's a little bit of angst coming soon, I suppose it can't all be sunshine and rainbows. But hopefully you all continue reading. I have a feeling this will be a very long story...**


	14. Chapter 14

**So this turned into another really long chapter, which I decided to upload in half - so here is the first half. Hope you enjoy!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of its characters... But I wish I did**

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

Jaz awoke the next morning to a tickling feeling on her neck. As she opened her eyes and came to a little more, she realised it was Dalton kissing her neck and his beard was abrading the sensitive spots, almost instantly making her feel amorous.

She pulled Dalton's head up so his lips met hers and they kissed passionately while he moved over the top of her. She felt how hard he was already and lifted her hips to connect with his before he even had a chance to settle over her.

He instantly started rubbing against her, hips rocking together slowly, lips never leaving each other's. Their movements mirrored each other's and with long lazy strokes, they each found their bliss, once again swallowing each other's moans as they came.

Dalton collapsed on top of Jaz and buried his head in the crook of her neck.

"Good morning," Jaz whispered into his ear, "What a way to wake up."

"Good morning." Dalton chuckled, "I dreamt about that bikini of yours, it's the devil." He explained, while pulling back to look into her eyes. They held each other's gaze before he continued longingly, "I wish we didn't have to be so quiet, I wish we could do more."

Jaz caught her breath, feeling exactly the same way, "Me too."

They hadn't had sex yet, but they both knew it is not something they wanted the other guys around for. Whenever it was going to happen, they wanted to be sure they were alone, not likely to be interrupted or overheard. So far they had been satisfied with the pleasure they were still finding in each other's bodies, but they still wanted more. Still thought about more. Still fantasized about more.

* * *

After starting the day with another of Amir's amazing breakfasts, Dalton drove them all to a lake about an hour away. It was another place that he used to go fishing with his Dad. He hadn't been here in a long time, but as soon as he got out of the car, the memories and nostalgia hit him.

Noticing him staring out over the lake with an odd expression on his face, Jaz asked "Everything ok?"

Dalton slowly nodded his head before smiling over to her, "Yeah, just haven't been here in a really long time."

Jaz just kept watching him as he looked back over the lake. She wondered if it was another spot that he came to with his Dad. It had sounded like they did a lot of fishing together when he was younger.

After finding a good spot along the embankment to place all their gear down and get the fishing rods out, they baited their lines and cast off. All four of them were lined up, eager to be the one to catch the first fish for the day.

Their surroundings were beautiful. The lake was huge and right in the middle of a forest, with trees towering overhead and providing some shade from the scorching sun. Amir had every intention of taking more photos a bit later on, he wanted to capture all the beauty of this place before he left. Just when he was thinking that maybe he could bring Hannah to this beautiful part of the world sometime, he felt a tug on the end of the line and his attention switched to reeling it in.

McG looked over and noticed Amir reeling in, and couldn't believe that Amir was going to win.

"What the hell man? I thought for sure that Top would get the first one." McG stated incredulously.

"So did I," Top added dryly, while watching Amir try to reel in the fish.

"Your skinny arms need some help, buddy?" McG couldn't help teasing him.

Amir just concentrated on getting that fish in, super happy to have beat everyone else, especially McG. "Nope." He simply answered McG, as the fish appeared and Amir brought it up out of the water.

Dalton whistled, "That's a pretty decent sized bream there Amir, good job."

Amir smiled proudly, "What do I win?"

"The satisfaction of knowing you beat McG," Dalton teased.

Amir looked over at McG, who just rolled his eyes, "Best prize ever."

They were fishing catch and release style today, so Amir set his bream free, rebaited his line and got back to it.

Dalton glanced over at Jaz every so often for a couple of reasons. Firstly, he was glad to see her looking like she was genuinely having a good time. She really seemed to have taken to fishing, and he was glad that she could enjoy it, given that she associated fishing with guilt just a few days ago. Secondly, he just couldn't take his eyes off her. It was as simple as that. Things had obviously changed between them lately, and they still weren't labelling it, or really talking about it with the others here, but he thought about her even more than usual, wanted to touch her all the time, and wanted to wrap her up in his arms and kiss her almost every second of the day.

Jaz caught Dalton looking at her and she held his gaze for a few seconds. She couldn't read the look in his eyes, but whatever it was, she smiled back at it. They had always had a closeness, and an intimacy, even before they were actually intimate. But now, they were sharing and keeping secrets and that increased their intimacy level tenfold.

Unbeknown to Dalton, Jaz couldn't keep her eyes off him either. She'd always appreciated what a fine specimen he was, on the inside and out, but now knowing him a little differently, she just wanted to know more. She craved it actually.

* * *

After a couple of hours, Amir took off to take some photos from different angles around the lake while McG decided to have a bit of a snooze up on the embankment under the trees.

Dalton and Jaz were still fishing, but they sat down on the grass while they waited for the next bite, their gazes overlooking the lake.

Jaz looked over at Dalton and broached, "Was this another place you used to come to with your Dad?"

"Yep." Dalton's gaze remained focused on the lake and continued, "We did a lot of fishing when I was younger. It the only thing we did together, just the two of us."

He took a beat, a deep breath, and continued "It's the only real happy memories I have of him. The bad outweighed the good, but fishing was our thing."

Jaz smiled softly, "I'm glad you have those memories, despite the rest."

They had somehow inched closer together, so that their shoulders were nearly touching.

"Can I ask you something?" Jaz broached quietly.

Dalton just looked at her in response, the look on his face answering her.

"Do you ever have nightmares about your father?" She whispered, knowing that nightmares troubled him, but not what they were about.

He thought about it for a few seconds and slowly shook his head, "No. Not about him specifically. Sometimes his actions from long ago, but in recent times it's been other things."

He didn't want to share what those other things were about just yet, and definitely not here, with Amir and McG around. She seemed to understand that without him having to explain and they both looked back out over the lake silently for a few minutes.

Suddenly Jaz had a quick smile on her face, "I bet you were cute as a little boy, decked out in all your fishing gear."

"Cute?"

"Yeah," she confirmed and couldn't help but reach up and run her fingers through his beard, "Before any of this facial hair was around."

"I thought you liked my facial hair." He said quietly with a smirk on his face.

"I do." Jaz responded with a look of appreciation and affection in her eyes.

He just looked down into her eyes, both of them temporarily forgetting their surroundings and their company. He turned his head to kiss the palm of her hand, still resting on his cheek, and they felt their longing for each other kick up a notch.

Luckily, McG's snoring was loud enough to break through their trance and they remembered where they were and who they were with.

What they didn't know was that Amir had captured them in that entranced moment on his camera. He hadn't meant to invade their privacy, but he just happened to be looking through his view finder with his long lens when they came into view, and the way they had looked at each other was mesmerising. His finger had pressed the shutter release a couple of times before he even had chance to think about it. He thought briefly about deleting them, but honestly, they were some of the most beautiful pictures he had ever taken. The transparency of feeling on both their faces, was not something he could just get rid of, despite these two still trying their best to hide it.

* * *

After a few more hours fishing in the afternoon, and Amir officially catching the most fish, they packed up and headed back to the cabin.

There was a couple of hours before they were going to head into town for dinner, so they all spent it relaxing and doing their own thing.

Amir went to say his prayers and then started packing some of his things up, ready for his departure the next day. McG watched a baseball game on TV while Jaz read a book on the couch and Dalton went outside to chop up some more firewood.

They were all engrossed in their own thoughts and activities when Preach messaged their group chat.

 _ **So when are y'all going to come and visit me?**_ – Preach

 _ **When are you up for visitor's big guy?**_ – McG

 _ **Well, what are you all doing in a couple of weeks? My wife and the girls are going to see her parents for the long weekend**_ – Preach

 _ **Sounds like a plan**_ – McG

 _ **Sounds great**_ – Top

Jaz looked up as Dalton entered the cabin from chopping wood, and smiled at him. He smiled back at her and signalled to his phone, as if reminding her to reply to Preach.

 _ **Sure does**_ – Jaz

 _ **I can make it**_ – Amir

 _ **He might have a girlfriend with him though**_ – McG

 _ **Amir can bring whoever he wants**_ – Preach

 _ **Thanks Preach, but it will just be me**_ – Amir

"Trouble in paradise already?" McG raised his eyebrows at Amir.

"Not at all, but Hannah doesn't have the weekend off, so it's kind of perfect." Amir explained.

 _ **Alright team, looking forward to it**_ – Preach

 **So are we Preach, we'll let you know our plans** – Top

 _ **Copy that**_ – Preach

"Woooooo, party at Preach's." McG couldn't hide his excitement. Not only did Preach have a great house with a pool, but he had missed his big buddy and was just so happy he was doing well and that they would be seeing him soon.

Despite the rest of them rolling their eyes at McG, they felt exactly the same way. They had fun being together these last couple of days, but there was someone missing, the heartbeat of their team, and they couldn't wait to see him.

* * *

A couple of hours later, they were all getting ready to leave for dinner. They were going to the bar that Dalton had taken Jaz previously and were looking forward to a night out.

The three guys were ready and just waiting for Jaz to finish up. She wasn't usually the type of female that took a long time to get ready, but sharing a room with Dalton, sort of, had its challenges.

Jaz had decided on a new dress for this evening. It was one she had bought the same day as her new bikini, and had been waiting for an occasion to wear it. It wasn't particularly dressy, but it's not something she would wear every day, at least not up in these mountains. She already knew that Dalton would love it, not in an egotistical way, but just in the way she knew he liked her dress in DC, and her new bikini, once she had the courage to wear it. She wasn't trying to tease him, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy seeing his appreciative looks at her.

Sure enough, as soon as she left the bedroom, all three guys turned to look at her. Amir smiled warmly at her, McG wolf whistled and Dalton tried his utmost not to stare or drool.

Jaz's dress was off the shoulder and fell to her knee. It was a simple cotton sundress, but with her hair in a bun on top of her head, the length of her neck was on display and her smooth, soft skin along her décolletage and upper back shone with a healthy tan.

Dalton already knew this was going to be a long night. With Jaz looking like that, he was going to have to be extra aware of keeping his natural body responses under control, as well as his tongue in his mouth.

With Jaz rolling her eyes at McG's wolf whistle, she purposely didn't look at Dalton. She knew if she saw any sort of desire in his eyes, she would struggle to stay away from him tonight, and that was already going to be difficult.

Dalton cleared his throat, "Ok, ready to go?" He asked them all, and with that they all walked out to his truck. Amir was going to drive them home so the others could indulge themselves a little.

* * *

Upon arriving at the bar, they were seated straight away and were perusing the menu, deciding what to eat. The band had already started up for the night, and they were bopping their heads along to the beat.

McG turned to Dalton and teased, "Top, did you purposely choose this bar for the country music?"

"Thought it would make you feel right at home." Dalton shrugged with a grin on his face.

"If you had warned me, I would have worn my checked shirt and cowboy boots." McG replied sarcastically.

"Well we wouldn't want to scare off the locals now would we?" Dalton replied equally as sarcastically, before they both laughed.

Once again, Jaz found herself grinning to herself, just enjoying being with these three amazing guys. Along with Preach, these guys meant the world to her, much more than her biological family ever had. Besides Elijah, no one else had ever come close to getting through her walls the way these guys did. Some obviously more than others she thought to herself as she sneaked a look at Dalton. As always he was looking more than handsome tonight. His blue button down shirt made his eyes stand out even more than usual, and his black jeans accentuated all the right areas.

In fact, all three of the guys looked especially handsome. She hadn't ever thought of herself as lucky throughout her life so far, but looking at these three and the relationship they all had with each other, she was definitely thankful for them. Her heart ached a little for Elijah, and wished he could be there with them, and she also missed Preach. But she was determined to enjoy every second with these three before Amir left the next day.

Dalton and McG went up to the bar to order some drinks and Jaz took the opportunity to ask Amir about Hannah.

"So is Hannah looking forward to you being back in DC tomorrow?"

Amir turned a tinge of pink, "I think so…" he answered, not quite sure how to respond.

Jaz grinned, almost feeling sorry for him and his apparent embarrassment, "I'm sure she is, she's a lucky lady."

Amir looked up in surprise, "I'm sorry, I think I misheard you?"

"You heard correctly." Jaz laughed, knowing Amir was surprised at the compliment, "Just don't fuck it up," she warned him.

"I'll try my best." Amir grinned in response, so happy that his and Jaz's relationship had finally reached this point.

Dalton returned then with a beer for himself and Jaz and a lemonade for Amir.

"You lose McG already?" Jaz asked.

Dalton glanced back to where McG was standing at the bar, talking to a woman in a very tight dress, "Recognise the dress?" He asked Jaz, turning to raise an eyebrow at her.

Jaz saw it was the woman who tried to start a conversation with Dalton the last time they were here. She laughed as she saw she was wearing the exact same dress too.

"Looks like she got a warmer reception this time." She laughed in response, and Dalton just smiled back at her.

That was the night when Dalton told the tight dressed woman that he was a one-woman man. It was also the night they first kissed. They smiled at each other a little coyly, trying to hide it from Amir.

Amir noticed the intimacy in their exchange. Of course he did, it was Amir. There was obviously more to the story, but being who he was, he didn't pry. Truth be told, he was happy every time he saw something suggesting that the two of them were happy, they deserved to be.

Once their food arrived, Dalton had to signal to McG at the bar.

"Manage to drag yourself away there, cowboy?" Dalton teased.

'What can I say, Top? The woman has great taste."

"Or needs glasses." Jaz said dryly.

"Don't be jealous Jazzy, I still love you too." McG teased as he put a hand on Jaz's shoulder as if to comfort her.

"Phew, that's a relief." Jaz rolled her eyes and put her hand over her heart, as the others just laughed.

After they had all finished their meals, and had a couple more drinks, McG did his best to get the others out on the dance floor. Amir flat out refused and Dalton just laughed at him. Jaz was his best chance and after some pleading and puppy dog eyes, she gave in and let him lead her out with a twirl and a dip, making her laugh.

It was an upbeat song being played and McG was going all out with his dance moves, pulling out some classics like the sprinkler, the running man and then throwing in some flossing just to top it all off. Jaz was having fun trying to match his moves, and out do him, but there's no outdoing McG when he was on a roll.

Dalton and Amir were laughing as they watched them from their table. They were constantly kept entertained by McG, and seeing him and Jaz let loose like this was always great to see, especially since they were on leave.

Amir still found it hard to believe that a year earlier, he was working alone, working undercover and trying to infiltrate ISIS. Now, he was here in Pennsylvania, with his _team_ , having fun and laughing out loud at the antics of his team mate. So much had changed and it had all been for the better.

Dalton couldn't help but laugh at McG, but all the while kept his gaze on Jaz. Seeing her like this, eyes bright and laughing with abandon, made him smile himself. Seeing Jaz happy, after everything that had happened, was always a welcome sight.

He excused himself to go to the bathroom, and when he finished up and was walking past the dance floor back to Amir at the table, the music suddenly changed to a slow number. Before he knew it a large hand reached out of nowhere, grabbed his arm and dragged him onto the dance floor. He found himself face to face with Jaz while McG was backing off the dance floor.

"I gotta go rehydrate, Top. Keep Jaz company for a bit, she's not done dancing." He called out as he kept moving towards Amir.

Dalton and Jaz just stared after him, wide eyed and mouths agape, but got pushed closer together as the crowd around them kept moving.

Dalton shrugged and offered his hand out to Jaz, "Shall we?"

Jaz looked at his hand before gripping it with her own and putting her other hand on his shoulder.

"I didn't know you could dance." She stated surprisingly, all the while trying to act casually, like holding his hand in public wasn't a little bit daunting, and scary. And really nice too.

"Well, I know how to sway, that's about as good as it gets." Dalton replied while placing his other hand on her waist and pulling her closer.

Jaz just smiled in response. This was another side of Dalton she never would have expected.

They continued to sway, gradually inching closer and closer together. Close enough to feel each other's body heat, but still with enough space between them to look relatively platonic. Neither of them could deny that it was nice, _really nice_ , to be able to stand this close, and hold each other like this in public, even if it was just dancing.

Every so often their eyes would meet, and if their team mates weren't sitting just metres away, they could get lost in each other's eyes. What was happening between them was new and raw and was growing each day. Hiding it was getting harder and harder.

Dalton moved them so that his back was to Amir and McG, because he wouldn't put it past Amir to be able to lip read.

"You look amazing tonight, I wanted to say that earlier." He complimented her and looked at her appreciatively and longingly.

Jaz blushed, not quite used to compliments from anybody. "Thanks, so do you." And couldn't help but gaze at his lips, wishing she could press hers to his that moment.

Dalton gazed back at her, wishing they were someplace else right then.

As McG sat back down at the table and chugged a beer, Amir looked at him conspiratorially and held out his fist, "Nicely played my friend."

McG just smiled, wriggled his eyes brows and returned the fist pump, very proud of his effort.

* * *

After the song ended and the music became upbeat again, Dalton and Jaz left the dance floor. Dalton headed straight back to their table while Jaz excused herself to the bathroom just to give herself a little breathing space before re-joining the others.

When she returned to the table, there was another round of beers on the table, and a round of tequila shots.

Jaz just sat down and huffed a laugh, "Oh boy…" as she indicated towards the shots.

"It's Amir's last night we need to celebrate." McG justified.

"Well I'll just celebrate over here with another lemonade." Amir said sarcastically, but not at all denying the others of their shots.

The other three laughed as they cheersed each other and threw it down the hatch.

A couple of hours later, after a few more beers and a few more shots, Amir drove the rambunctious three back to the cabin. All three of them were well and truly drunk, and Amir handed them all very large glasses of water as soon as they got home.

Jaz was stretched out on the couch, struggling to keep her eyes open, while McG and Dalton sat on the other couch, chugging the water that Amir had given them.

Amir announced he was heading to bed and left them to their antics. The hangovers were definitely going to be fun tomorrow.

"Enjoy your last night in that bedroom buddy, I'm taking it over tomorrow." McG couldn't help but call to Amir as he closed the bedroom door.

Dalton got up to grab a packet of chips from the pantry to try and help soak up the alcohol and while he and McG demolished them, Jaz fell asleep on the couch, with Patton laying on the floor in front of her, as if keeping guard.

It was clear that Jaz was in a pretty deep sleep, so when Dalton went to lift her into bed a little while later, McG interrupted him, "Leave her there Top, she looks comfortable. Besides, I'll be out here sleeping too so she won't be alone."

Dalton hesitated, "You sure?"

He couldn't put up too much of a protest, if he did he would give them away.

"Yeah man, and with all that alcohol, she'll probably be out for a while anyway."

Dalton looked at Jaz, she did look comfortable, and seeing her asleep was always a relief. Making up his mind, he headed into his bedroom, retrieved one his blankets from his 'bed' on the floor and draped it over her.

He would miss her next to him in bed that night; would miss her warm body curled up next to his, but he could cope for a night.

Right?

* * *

Wrong.

Dalton barely slept. In such a short time, he had become so accustomed to having Jaz next to him, that without her there, it felt like he was missing a limb. He would find himself drifting off to sleep and reaching out for her, only to find an empty space next to him. It was ridiculous, he thought to himself. She's right outside the door.

After a few hours of drifting in and out of slumber, he decided to go and get a drink of water, all the alcohol had left him parched.

What he saw as he opened his bedroom door was completely unexpected.

Jaz was sitting up on the couch, clearly a little bit distressed, while McG rubbed his hand up and down her back, talking to her quietly.

Dalton didn't even need to ask, he knew that Jaz had experienced another nightmare.

His eyes met McG's and no words were exchanged between them, but they both saw worry reflected in the others' eyes.

Jaz was so frustrated. She thought she had a handle on these nightmares. She was surprised that she still had a nightmare with McG sleeping so close. She had been convinced that was the trick; that company equalled a nightmare free night.

When she lifted her own head to glance at Dalton, she saw that his eyes were now on her. He was silently assessing how she was and what she needed. He quickly crossed into the kitchen to grab that glass of water, placed it on his bedside table and then went back to where Jaz was sitting on the couch.

With a quick look at McG, "Thanks buddy, I got it." He lifted Jaz up into his arms, like she was a small child.

McG just nodded in response and watched Dalton carry Jaz back into his bedroom and place her on the bed before closing the door.

He sat on the couch just frowning. McG was worried. He knew Jaz had nightmares, they all had nightmares, and Jaz had a particularly rough deployment. But the frequency and intensity of them was alarming and he wondered if Jaz was getting the help she needed to deal with both them, and the triggers to her nightmares. He knew Jaz well enough to be able to answer that himself.

* * *

Jaz lay in Dalton's bed, with him curled up behind her. They both battled internally with whether to address her nightmare right then, or leave it till morning.

Without exchanging any words, they seemed to agree and found themselves giving in to their tiredness and started to fall asleep. Being wrapped up together was a comfort for them both, but they knew that a conversation was coming, both between themselves and most likely with McG also. Jaz couldn't go on like this, not with the frequency of her nightmares.

For now though, sleep was paramount. Dalton buried his head into her apple scented hair and wrapped her up even tighter. With a kiss to the back of her head, they both fell asleep, comforted by each other's presence, but both knowing that some difficult conversations were coming.

* * *

 **I'll post the second half of this chapter soon. What did you all think of this one? Please let me know, and thank you to those who leave reviews, I love reading them!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Here's the second half of the previous chapter. Thank you so much to all of you who are reading, and especially to those of you who leave reviews - they definitely keep me motivated.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish that I did.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

The next morning Dalton crept out of his bed, leaving Jaz asleep. They had both managed to get a few hours of solid sleep after relocating Jaz back into Dalton's bed, but the bathroom beckoned after all of last night's drinks, and Dalton was surprised to find McG up and already in the kitchen.

"You're up early." Dalton observed after coming out of the bathroom.

"Yeah, I didn't sleep much after Jaz's nightmare, thought I'd try and make myself useful and make breakfast." McG replied, whilst opening various drawers and cupboards looking for various paraphernalia.

Dalton silently started to make a pot of coffee as McG started to prepare some food.

After a couple of minutes, McG looked over at his captain and broached quietly, "How often is Jaz having her nightmares?"

Dalton met his eyes briefly before answering honestly, "A lot more than she should be."

"That's what I thought." McG nodded slowly, before continuing, "And it would seem the nightmare free nights with company, only apply to you."

Dalton just stared down at the kitchen bench, not quite sure how to respond. After a little while, he stated, "I'm not sure what you're implying."

"Top, I'm not implying anything, honestly. I'm just making an observation." McG defended himself, "But given the situation, it's concerning that her only comfort is with you sleeping in the same room as her. I'm glad she has that comfort for now, but she can't go on like this forever, and she shouldn't be suffering like she is. None of us want to see her suffering."

Dalton turned to face McG and took a deep breath, "You're right, and I'm concerned too."

"I can talk to her if you want, make some recommendations. She seemed to take to Xander Martin in Turkey…?" McG offered.

Dalton thought about it quickly, trying to figure out what would be best for Jaz.

"Let me try first. Xander might be a good option, but let me broach the subject with her first."

"Sure, let me know if I can help." McG said slowly before turning back to his food prep.

"Thanks buddy." Dalton clapped McG on the shoulder before letting Patton out and stepping outside himself.

McG was right. Although Jaz seemed ok when they slept in the same bed, he knew that it wasn't a long term solution. They didn't even know what was going on between them at the moment, or where it would lead or end up. As comfortable as they were with the current situation, and as much as they were enjoying it, the feasibility of it presented some problems. Dalton knew that the nightmares needed to be addressed, probably the sooner the better.

* * *

Jaz crept out of Dalton's room to find McG in the kitchen starting to cook breakfast.

"You're cooking?' She asked with a laugh.

McG grinned at her, "I thought with it being Amir's last morning I should return the favour."

"Just don't give him food poisoning, the guy has a woman to impress." Jaz teased.

"Ha, ha, Jazzy. I haven't killed anyone yet."

"Yet…." Jaz echoed as she walked around him to grab a cup of coffee as McG scowled at her.

"Where's Top?" She asked.

"He took Patton out a few minutes ago. I saw him heading to the jetty if you're looking for him."

Jaz quickly averted her eyes, "I'm not looking for him, but I might go and stretch my legs before breakfast."

"Sure thing, don't be late though." McG called out to her as she headed out the door, coffee in hand.

McG just watched as she disappeared outside. As both the team medic and one of her best friends, it hurt him to see her suffering so much. There was help available for her, in abundance. It was just convincing Jaz of that, and he knew how bull headed she could be. He silently wished Top good luck in trying to get her to come around to the idea.

* * *

Jaz walked up slowly to stand beside Dalton on the jetty. He was throwing a stick into the water, while Patton swam and retrieved it.

"He really has turned into a water dog hasn't he?" Jaz chuckled as Dalton turned slightly, acknowledging her presence with a faint smile.

He didn't answer the question, but he studied her face, noticing how tired she looked and then looked her in the eyes and asked, "You ok?"

"I'm fine." She answered quickly, but turned away from him to stare out across the lake.

Dalton didn't move his gaze from her face, trying to read her thoughts. When she didn't offer any supplements to her answer he thought long and hard about how to tackle this.

"Jaz, you can't go on like this." He whispered.

She didn't take her gaze off the lake but questioned innocently, "Like what?"

"You know what." He answered quietly.

He could see her jaw clench as she decided how to respond. When she remained silent, he continued on, still speaking softly.

"Jaz, your nightmares are a lot more frequent than they should be, and the theory of keeping them at bay by someone keeping you company, doesn't seem all that accurate now. If it's only me that helps keep them at bay, then we might run into some problems."

Jaz turned to look up at him, a little bit angry and a little bit hurt. "So is it my nightmares that you're worried about, or what it means for you and me and our jobs?"

Dalton held her gaze for a few moments before answering. "I'm worried about _you_." He said simply.

"Well I'm fine." She retorted, before turning around and heading back towards the cabin.

Dalton just watched her go and took a deep breath. That wasn't supposed to be how it panned out. He didn't try and call her back or continue the conversation. It was clear that she wasn't ready or didn't want to talk about it at the moment, and although he thought it could help, if he pushed her too far, she would run.

* * *

Jaz walked back into the cabin and sat down at the dining table just as Amir walked out of his room. He raised his eyebrows at seeing McG in the kitchen and headed in that direction.

"Let me guess, breakfast burritos?" He queried.

"You betcha buddy, thought I'd give you the morning off." McG grinned widely.

"So thoughtful of you." Amir replied sarcastically before chuckling and starting to set the table.

Just as McG was ready to serve up breakfast, Dalton and Patton came back inside.

"Good timing, Top."

As McG placed the food on the table, he couldn't help notice that Jaz kept her gaze down on the table and her plate as everyone sat down. She barely raised her head as they all ate and drank their coffee and she excused herself as soon as she was finished.

Amir went to finish getting his stuff together after thanking McG for his breakfast, leaving Dalton and McG sitting there finishing off their coffee.

"Just gonna hazard a guess that it didn't go so well with Jaz?" McG looked at Dalton.

Dalton just shook his head and sighed, "You guessed correctly."

"Jaz is defensive, give her time to cool down and see what happens. She knows you have her best interests at heart." McG placated.

Dalton just sat and thought for a minute, "I'm not sure I conveyed that very well." He replied, a little despondently.

They sat quietly for a few minutes just sipping their coffee and thinking about Jaz. McG was hoping she might be a bit more receptive if he spoke to her, as an impartial stake holder, but also from a medical point of view.

As Dalton stood up and started to clear away some dishes, McG said quietly, "Let me try and talk to her. And if that doesn't work, we'll set Preach on her."

Dalton just smiled wryly, but appreciatively of McG's assistance. He knew he was going to need it.

* * *

An hour later, Amir had packed his bags into his car and was ready to start the drive back to DC.

Since they would all be seeing each other again at Preach's soon, the goodbyes weren't too hard. Dalton made sure he knew the way out of the mountains and McG jokingly wrapped up a left over burrito in aluminium and a ziploc bag just in case he got hungry.

As Amir said goodbye to Jaz, he gave her a hug and whispered in her ear, "Be happy Jaz, you deserve to be happy." Before pulling back to look in her eyes.

She frowned slightly at the sentiment, but when he gave her a small, knowing smile in response, she couldn't help but give a ghost of a smile back. Amir knew. Of course he did. The invisible man was everywhere, saw everything, but said nothing. Until now.

The three of them stood and waved Amir off as his car disappeared into the surrounding forest, before McG ran into the cabin to move his stuff into the spare room. Now that Amir was gone, he could get off the couch for a few nights.

Jaz and Dalton were left standing outside together, neither of them knowing what to say after their earlier conversation.

A little bit startled by Amir's observation and still… she didn't know what… from their earlier conversation, Jaz kept her gaze on the floor, while Dalton just stared at her, willing her to look up at him. When she didn't, he thought he'd try and smooth things over, "Jaz…"

But before he could get any further, Jaz just shook her head, blurted out a quick, "I can't right now," and went back inside. She decided she needed to get out for a bit, and changed into her hiking gear. Some exercise and the great outdoors might help her clear her head for a bit.

Dalton just stayed outside, still standing where Jaz had left him. He had dealt with Jaz in these types of situations before, but this time, there was a lot more involved. There were feelings involved. Not that there hadn't been before, but this time the feelings had been acted on, and partially acknowledged.

This was a whole different situation, and he was stumped.

McG saw that Jaz was in her hiking gear as she was filling a water bottle in the kitchen. He quickly went back into _his_ bedroom and got changed himself before filling his own bottle up to.

"What are you doing?" Jaz asked, as she noticed what he was up to.

"Coming with you." He stated simply.

"I don't need a babysitter."

"I'm not babysitting you, I just need to get these legs moving. Need to sweat out all of that booze from last night." He tried to joke.

"Whatever. You better keep up, I'm not slowing down for you." Jaz relented.

They walked out past Dalton, who was still outside on the porch, sitting down now and playing with Patton. He looked up as they walked past him.

"Just going for a quick hike, Top." McG explained as he stayed alongside of Jaz, but gave Top a knowing look.

Dalton just nodded as his eyes met Jaz's briefly, before she quickly glanced away and started to stride off towards the hiking trails.

Once again Dalton just let out a deep sigh and hoped that McG had better luck than he did trying to talk to Jaz.

* * *

Jaz led McG at a punishing pace for the first half an hour of their hike. She had a lot on her mind and tried to process some of it the best way she knew how. She couldn't quite figure out if she was angry, hurt, sad or frustrated… or anything else for that matter. She knew that the frequency of her nightmares were a worry, she just hadn't expected Dalton to call her out on it, especially after she had been nightmare free every night she spent with him. And the touchy subject of their jobs, was always going to be a sensitive point. They were still just riding the 'fuck it' wave, and had tried not to think of anything beyond that so far.

No words were exchanged between her and McG as they hiked, just heads down, pedal to the metal. They were climbing to an observation point that Dalton had showed Jaz prior to the others arriving, and by the time they got there, they were both sweating and breathing deeply.

They took a few minutes to catch their breath and just take in the view, which was of course, absolutely stunning.

Finally McG looked over at Jaz and breathed out, "You trying to kill me back there?"

Jaz just grinned, already feeling better after a bit of exercise, "Struggling to keep up pretty boy?"

"Aww, you think I'm pretty. That means so much."

Jaz just rolled her eyes at him and shook her head, before looking back out at the view. She waited a few more minutes before asking, "So you gonna spit out whatever you want to talk to me about?"

McG feigned innocence, "Just felt like getting out of the cabin, needed the exercise."

Jaz turned and looked him straight in the eyes and tilted her head at him, no words needed.

"Ok, ok…" McG held his hands up, giving in, before taking a breath and starting in a more serious tone, "I just wanted to ask you about your nightmares, Jaz. They seem to be quite frequent."

Jaz turned to look back out over the tree tops, concentrating on taking deep breaths so that she didn't get upset or lash out.

Seeing her doing so, McG continued softly, "We all have nightmares; it's unavoidable given what we do and what we see. Realistically we probably will for a long time, but the frequency and intensity of yours are concerning Jazzy, and we're just worried about you."

"You've all been talking about me?" Jaz shot back.

"No, we haven't. I've only had a chat to Top, because he seems to know the most about them. And from what I understand he provides a bit of comfort from them…"

Jaz lowered her gaze slightly, not prepared to discuss the comfort that Dalton provides her.

"Look Jaz, I'm glad that there is some comfort for you, and Top has his own experiences with nightmares and probably has a lot to share with you. The bottom line though, is that these nightmares can take over your life; control your life. None of us want to see you getting to that stage. You were dealt a pretty shit hand in our last deployment, and we want to make sure you make it to the next one with as clean a slate as we can expect in this job." McG broke off, to let his words sink in for a moment.

Jaz's gaze was still lowered, but she had listened to everything that McG had said. She knew he was right, but admitting that she needed help didn't come easily to her.

As if reading her mind, McG spoke again gently, "I can give you the number of a couple of different people to talk to. Or, Xander Martin will be back in DC in a couple of weeks, I know you chatted to him in Incirlik. I'm not suggesting you need anything radical, just an opinion, or someone impartial to talk to and work through some things can really help."

When Jaz still didn't respond to him, he went silent and just looked out over the view as his mind ticked over wondering what else he could say to try and convince her.

But Jaz had listened to every word and after clearing her throat, but still not raising her gaze she whispered, "Maybe I could talk to Xander."

His head shot around to look at her and couldn't believe what she said, but McG controlled his response so as not to overwhelm her. Instead he just asked evenly, "Yeah?"

Jaz nodded her head and lifted her gaze to meet him, "Yeah." She confirmed.

He smiled gently at her and she gave a ghost of a smile in response.

"We just don't want to see you suffering Jaz, and I can help you out as much as you need. We all can." He offered.

"I know." Jaz admitted softly.

They turned back to take in the view and he put his arm around her shoulder and leant his head on top of hers. Jaz was like a little sister to him and he would do anything to ease any pain she was feeling, and it hadn't just been lip service suggesting that they all would. They were a family and looked out for each other, first and foremost.

When he felt Jaz's arm snake around his waist in response he just smiled and teased, "And anyway, your nightmares will interrupt my beauty sleep, and I need to keep up my pretty boy reputation."

Jaz chuckled and punched him lightly in the stomach with the hand not wrapped around his waist. Leave it to McG to always be able to lighten the situation. It was one of the things she was most thankful for. He always made her laugh or smile, sometimes in annoyance, but mostly in the way that helped to ease some of her darkness.

"You definitely need all the help you can get." She retorted.

"There she is." McG laughed, and Jaz joined in.

As they started the descent back to Dalton's cabin, McG asked her, "You know that Top's just worried too right?"

Jaz nodded slowly and looked up at him, "Yeah I know. I'm not sure I conveyed that very well to him earlier though. Or at all." She replied, a little despondently.

"Talk to him. I'm sure he can offer you a lot of – ummm, assistance." McG smirked at her.

She whacked him in the stomach with the back of her hand, "Shut up." Jaz threw at him, before jogging off ahead of him, leaving him to catch up to her, as always.

* * *

When they arrived back at the cabin half an hour later, they found a note on the kitchen bench from Dalton saying he had gone fishing.

Jaz knew he had gone to give her some space so she decided to have a quick shower to wash away the sweaty grime from their hike, and it was one of the best places to do some thinking.

As she showered, Jaz thought about her conversation earlier with Dalton and she cringed. She knew that he was just worried about her, just like McG had said. And he was being cautious with the others being around and for what it might mean for them down the track. She shouldn't have snapped at him, he was just being realistic. That reality had a lot of questions hanging over it, but she didn't want to ruin whatever they had going on at the moment, it meant too much to her.

After her shower she got dressed quickly and McG knew without her even telling him where she was headed.

He picked up Dalton's keys to his truck and told Jaz, "Tell Top I've gone to get more beer."

Jaz just nodded in response, knowing that McG was purposely making himself scarce to give her and Dalton some time to chat. She was grateful for that and smiled at him. He gave her a wink in return before heading out to the truck.

* * *

Dalton was sitting at the end of the jetty, waiting for a fish to bite when he heard footsteps behind him. He knew the sound and pattern of that gait straight away and tried to supress the small amount of relief that he felt knowing she had come to find him. He raised his head to look up at her as she came to a stop beside him.

"Hi." She offered quietly, looking and feeling uncomfortable.

He looked straight into her big brown eyes, seeing the discomfort there, but also the softness.

"You're losing your ninja qualities, I heard you coming this time."

"I wanted you to." She responded, before sitting down next to him on the jetty. "Thought I'd give you a chance to leave if you wanted to."

He once again focused his gaze on hers, "I'm not going anywhere." He said seriously.

Jaz's eyes locked on his beautiful blue eyes, and she couldn't look away as she whispered, "Me neither."

Dalton sighed slowly in relief. It's one of the things he had worried about the most since their conversation this morning. He knew when Jaz felt any discomfort she had a tendency to run. He really wanted to break that habit and keep her close, without sounding desperate or making her feel trapped.

Still looking directly into his gaze, Jaz took a deep breath and stuttered, "I'm – I'm sorry… for earlier. I'm sorry for snapping at you, I know you were just concerned."

Dalton didn't take his gaze off hers, "You don't need to be sorry, Jaz. I just need you to talk to me; to be honest with me."

Jaz let that sink in while she took a few more deep breaths. One of Dalton's best qualities was that he never held a grudge against any of his team members, or anyone he was close to. It's what made him a great leader, a great friend and a great guy.

"McG told me that Xander Martin is going to be back in DC in a couple of weeks. He thought it would be a good idea to talk to him about my nightmares." Jaz shared with him.

Dalton gave a small smile, "Well Xander is good people, so that sounds like a good plan."

Jaz just nodded slowly, already aware of how Xander had helped Dalton through a few tough times. If Dalton could vouch for him, that was more than enough for her.

"Listen, what I said before about potentially running into some problems…" Dalton started, but Jaz cut him off.

"No, it's ok. You were just being realistic, and trying to convince me to get some help. I know that. I knew it then too." Jaz conceded, before continuing, "I know at some stage we are going to have to have a conversation about this," she gestured between the two of them, "There is clearly a lot to think about. But…" She paused while working up the courage to finish her sentence. With her voice shaking, she continued, "… we still have a fair bit of leave left and if you're still willing to continue with this label less situation, I'd really like that." She finished off tentatively.

Dalton smiled softly at first, so glad that she had brought the topic up. Then he smiled big, all the way up to his eyes, "I'd really like that too."

The relief that Jaz felt hearing Dalton's agreeance was palpable. She had been worried that she might have ruined it by being distant and moody. Not that he hadn't seen that side of her multiple times, but the stakes were higher this time, and she could actually lose something that made more sense to her than anything had in her entire life so far.

Dalton had been equally worried that he'd put his foot in it. Jaz had never been afraid of calling him out on stuff, questioning him, or making her distaste for a situation known, but there were now feelings involved, or acknowledged feelings, and the stakes were even higher. He had admit that much to himself, and that had been a big realisation for him. Knowing how it felt to have more of Jaz in his life, made potentially losing her feel catastrophic.

Wanting to be honest with her, he continued, "I'm not used to going into something without a plan, and that could catch us out at some stage and it worries me a little. But I also know how good we are at improvising, and that might be what we do best. Whatever _this_ is, it's making me pretty happy, and happy feels good; feels great actually."

Jaz's smile took over her whole face as she listened to him and replied, "Yeah, it does." She tentatively reached out her hand to entwine her fingers with his, and felt a calmness rush over her; the same calmness she always experienced when Dalton was near.

Dalton squeezed her hand in response and felt the heaviness of the morning leave him. He turned around to look back towards the cabin and asked, "What's McG up to?"

"He's taken your truck to go and get some more beer."

With a smile on his face he said, "Well in that case, I can do this." He pulled her closer to him, lay one of his hands on her cheek and leant forward to capture her lips with his in a soft, tender kiss.

As he pulled back to look at her, his hand still on her cheek, his face turned serious and he whispered to her, "I just need you to keep talking to me Jaz. No matter what, good or bad, just keep talking to me."

She looked back at the earnest look on his face and could see how much he meant the sentiment.

"I will, I promise." She whispered back and then reached up to cover his hand on her cheek with hers. They leant in for another kiss and as their lips lingered on each other, they both felt the instant safeness and comfort they had searched for in other places. It seems they found that in each other, and neither of them could imagine what it was like without it at the moment.

* * *

McG was particularly excited to go to bed that night, since he was no longer on the couch. You'd think he had been sleeping on a concrete floor for years, that's how excited he was. He went off to bed a bit earlier and left Dalton and Jaz sitting by the fire.

They sat in complete silence, the only sounds coming from the crackle of the fire and the occasional singing of a grasshopper. Both were content after their conversation earlier that day and were relieved that one of their obstacles, or at least one of Jaz's, was going to be addressed.

After sitting there for another half an hour, Dalton got up, snuffed out the fire and held his hand out to Jaz. She took it and stood up and Dalton led her inside to their bedroom.

They got into bed and lay on their sides facing each other. They whispered into the night about anything and everything, before Dalton pulled Jaz close, so they were nose to nose, with his arm around her waist and her hand laying on his chest. They just breathed each other in and let themselves drift off to sleep, warm and content. There was nothing sexual about this evening, it was about comfort, companionship and a whole lot of feelings, the depth of which they were yet to admit to themselves.

* * *

 **There you go, what did you think? There's a couple of fun chapters coming up, followed by some even more fun chapters, and then comes a bit more angst... Thanks again for reading and the reviews. Please let me know what you thought, love you all XXX**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

Jaz and Dalton were up early and went and sat out on the jetty to do some early morning fishing while the sun rose. They had both slept deeply, with a weight off both of their shoulders from their conversations the day before.

Jaz had grown to really appreciate fishing. It was so relaxing, and she felt like she could actually call it a hobby, at least one she would like to continue. She felt like she had Hossein to thank for that. If not for him, she might never have suggested fishing to Dalton, and she might not have persisted in really getting the hang of it.

She smiled to herself just thinking about it. The world definitely worked in mysterious ways.

A couple of hours later, they went back to the cabin to find that McG had surfaced.

"How was that bed, buddy?" Dalton asked him.

"Amazing. We need to get mattresses like that on base." McG practically purred.

Dalton and Jaz exchanged laughs, remembering Jaz saying almost the exact same thing when she had first arrived at the cabin.

Over breakfast, McG filled them in on what his plans were for the rest of leave. He was heading back to Montana for a little bit to see his Mom again, before he would reunite again with the others at Preach's house. After that, he hadn't quite decided.

Jaz thought about seeing Captain Xander Martin in DC in a couple of weeks, which McG was going to help facilitate. Obviously if Xander was based in DC, she would need to think about where to go after being at Preach's for the long weekend. She couldn't very well commute from the Blue Ridge Mountains every day. She knew that she desperately needed the help; needed to talk to someone about… well a lot of things. But the thought of not being at the cabin with Dalton saddened her more than she thought possible.

* * *

They decided to spend the afternoon hiking once again. Dalton never got sick of exploring these mountains and he was glad that Jaz and McG seemed to feel the same way.

With Dalton and Patton leading the way, they set off in a different direction than usual. It was another warm day, so they all had their swim suits on underneath their clothes, in case they came across somewhere suitable to cool down.

They chatted as they walked, teasing each other constantly and Jaz took lots of silly photos to send to Preach and Amir.

"I wonder if Amir has driven Hannah crazy yet with his neat freak ways." McG wondered aloud.

"You think she'd rather a slob like you?" Jaz threw back.

"A slob maybe, but not like me. Never thought of Hannah that way." McG clarified.

"Well that's one less thing to worry about then." Dalton said dryly, joining in on the conversation. "Maybe we shouldn't speculate on his love life too much, it's none of our business." He added as an afterthought.

"None of our business? We spend eight or nine months living on top of each other in Turkey, it's definitely going to be our business." McG reasoned.

He had a point there, and both Jaz and Dalton knew it. Secrets were very few and far between in Incirlik, and mostly for good reason. Their bond as a team is what made them one of the best, and secrets between team mates could lead to mistrust in the field, which in their field, could easily mean losing their lives.

Jaz and Dalton exchanged the quickest of glances to acknowledge that this was yet another point to think about. They were struggling as it was to keep whatever was going on between them from their team while they were stateside. In fact, Amir had already caught on to them, which meant they weren't doing the best job at it.

"Doesn't mean we need to harass him about it though." Jaz followed up.

"What? Jazzy, you're going soft on me. I'm gonna need to get Preach on the case."

"Preach is a believer in true love, so good luck with that." Dalton shook his head and chuckled.

He knew Preach was a massive advocate for exploring a connection with someone. He'd been the one dropping hints to Dalton for as long as he could remember, and had also encouraged Dalton to invite Jaz to the cabin. In Preach's defence, it had been a good move. Dalton doesn't have any regrets about the last few weeks, in fact maybe he needed to thank Preach.

"Ugh, you're all going soft on me." McG groaned good naturedly, making Jaz and Dalton both laugh as they continued walking.

* * *

They kept walking for a bit longer until they could see a lake in front of them, which was going to be a welcome relief to their sun warmed skin.

It turned out to be a bit of a touristy hot spot with change rooms, a café and water sport facilities.

They decided to hire stand up paddle boards and didn't waste any time getting out on the lake. Patton even sat at the end of Dalton's board, soaking up the sun and loving the splashes of water as others passed by.

After a little while and being who they were, it of course turned into a competition as to who could reach a buoy out in the middle of the lake quickest.

"Loser cooks dinner!" McG yelled as they started off.

McG led the charge early, and with his long limbs and greater reach, it looked like he would easily reach the buoy first. Never wanting to count Jaz out of course, they kept a close eye out for her, knowing what a pocket rocket she was.

Dalton started to pull alongside of McG, leaving Jaz still bringing up the rear, and all of a sudden Patton leapt from Dalton's board onto McG's and nearly caused it to overturn.

This in turn caused McG to reach his paddle out for balance, completely taking out Jaz on her board, causing her to fall in the lake with a big splash.

Laughing out loud, watching McG struggling to keep his balance, Dalton gracefully paddled to the buoy claiming victory, whilst flexing his biceps to McG to celebrate.

"Hey, no fair! You and your dog ganged up on me… what the…?!"

Jaz came up behind McG's board and took his legs out from under him, causing him to splash in the lake, joining her.

"What the fuck, Jaz?" McG came up spluttering.

"Pay back's a bitch hey pretty boy?" Jaz grinned at McG, and at the same time tilted her head towards Dalton.

Reading her mind, they both swam towards Dalton's board and as he saw what was coming and yelled out, "No, no no…" they combined forces to push him off his board.

As he came up spluttering, they both laughed their heads off, until he disappeared under water again, only to come up right next to Jaz, lifting her fireman style over his shoulder and then dumping her back in the lake.

Jaz made her way to the surface again, only to be standing right in front of Dalton, "Hey, that was a team effort," she exclaimed, but couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, but McG is a lot harder to lift." Dalton explained. He stood just watching her as she tried to pull all her hair out of her eyes. He loved the spark in her eyes and happiness on her face. Momentarily forgetting where he was and who he was with, he couldn't help but reach his hand out and tuck some of her wet hair behind her ear, as he smiled down at her tenderly.

She returned the smile, with the same tenderness on her own face, before they both remembered McG was just metres away. Quickly looking over at him, they saw he was guiding his board, with Patton still sitting on it, back to the shore.

"I'm going to grab a drink, meet you at the café. You're cooking dinner tonight Jaz, lasagne please." He called over his shoulder.

McG thought he would make himself scarce. He saw the moment between Dalton and Jaz, and he didn't think it was the right time to call them out on it.

"These two idiots must think we're all blind." He muttered to himself as he made his way through the water, making sure to smile to a group of ladies as he did so.

"Lucky we've got the ingredients for lasagne already." Jaz said to Dalton as she watched McG head back to shore.

He just looked at her, studying her face.

"What?" She asked self-consciously.

"Nothing. Just, ah – no bikini today huh?" Dalton said in a low voice.

Jaz felt herself blush slightly. "I thought it might be best to leave it until we are alone again."

Dalton slowly nodded his head and gave her a heated look, "Probably a good idea." Turning around quickly to see that McG was still walking out of the water with his back turned, he turned back to face Jaz and surprised her with a quick but tender kiss on her lips.

Jaz opened her eyes wide in shock, but returned the kiss. She couldn't not. It was as if every time Dalton was in close proximity, she lost all control. Still, she was surprised Dalton had kissed her with McG so close.

"Risky." She said, looking around Dalton to see where Mcg was.

Dalton smirked at her with a twinkle in his eye, "But worth it."

* * *

Later that day they headed back to the cabin, glad they had managed to cool off in the lake before the hike back.

Since Jaz was cooking dinner she managed to snag the first shower and did so quickly, throwing on some clean clothes as quick as she could so she could get the lasagne ready.

Jaz stood at the kitchen bench, chopping vegetables and listened to McG sing very loudly to himself while he was in the shower. Luckily, they were all used to it.

Dalton was outside, clearing some rogue branches away from the cabin when he caught sight of Jaz through the kitchen window and just stopped for a moment. He caught himself in a wry smile as he remembered doing just this the day after she had arrived at the cabin. He couldn't believe then that she was there in his kitchen, and cooking of all things. He couldn't believe that she was still here now. And he couldn't deny how much he loved having her there, and how sexy she looked, even concentrating on chopping the vegetables.

Just as she was starting to chop the last onion, Dalton appeared next to her in the kitchen and asked if she needed any help.

"Do you mind getting the mince out of the fridge for me?" Jaz asked without lifting her head, concentrating on the slippery onion on the chopping board in front of her. She might be good with weapons, but her worst self-inflicted cuts had come from chopping vegetables, which seemed a little bit ridiculous considering their jobs.

"Sure." Dalton replied, and after retrieving the meat from the fridge, he came and stood right behind her and just reached his arm around her to place it on the kitchen bench.

Even though she was still concentrating on the onion, she didn't fail to notice the close proximity of which he was standing behind her. With the tiniest of smirks on her face, she thanked him as nonchalantly as she could, pretending to be absorbed with her chopping.

He took another small step forward, moving even closer to her so his lips were in line with the crook of her neck, "Anything else?" He breathed into her neck.

Jaz felt goose bumps all over her body with those two words and had to stop what she was doing for fear of cutting herself.

As soon as Dalton saw this, he smirked to himself and lowered his lips to her neck and pressed a hot, prolonged kiss onto the pulse point in her neck causing her to drop the knife completely and grip the kitchen bench with both hands.

Dalton stepped even closer to her so he was pressed right up against her back, and hearing the shower still running in the bathroom and McG still belting out the tunes, he pressed one hand flat on her stomach to hold her against him, ensuring she could feel how hard he was. He continued to kiss her neck, and when he heard her moan quietly he slid his other hand up underneath her top to caress her breast, nearly gasping when he felt that she was bra-less.

With her senses being overloaded and her nipple instantly turning to rock, she spun around quickly and launched her lips onto his while throwing her arms around his neck to pull him as close as possible.

His hand instantly found its way back to her breast, rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, while pressing his hips into hers, locking her against the kitchen bench. Her hips pressed back just as eagerly and they continued to kiss each other long, hard and deeply. McG chose that exact moment to end his musical repertoire and as they heard the water being shut off, they knew they needed to put an end to this, for now.

They both regretfully took a step away from each other, only for self-preservation, only to try and get themselves back under control before McG appeared from the bathroom.

With her chest still heaving, Jaz tore her eyes away from Dalton's and turned back to the chopping board to attack that onion again.

With his own chest still struggling to get back under control, Dalton took one last step towards her, put both hands on her hips, leant down and whispered, "To be continued…" into her ear, before going back outside with Patton. He was hoping some more fresh air would help with the extreme level of desire he could now only associate with Jaz. No one had ever made him feel what Jaz Khan did. No one.

"Fuck." Jaz breathed out to herself as she watched him walk outside. She couldn't believe how quickly things between them could escalate. While her mind wandered, she felt a prick on her finger and sure enough, when she looked down, she had managed to cut her left forefinger. She shook her head and held a tea towel against it to stop the bleeding. No one had ever made her feel what Adam Dalton did. No one.

* * *

"I've missed your lasagne, Jaz." McG said appreciatively after dinner that night.

They'd eaten on the small table on the back veranda, enjoying the warm night air.

"I hadn't noticed." Jaz replied sarcastically, after watching him down three serves.

Jaz had sent some photos of their day at the lake to their group chat earlier, and their phones all started vibrating as Preach and Amir responded.

 _ **Please tell me McG ended up in the lake**_ – Amir

 _ **He sure did**_ – Jaz

 _ **Jaz, please tell me you were responsible**_ – Amir

 _ **I sure was**_ – Jaz

 _ **Atta girl**_ – Preach

 _ **Just so you all know, Top & Patton cheated**_ – McG

 _ **Not our fault you have no balance big guy**_ – Top

 _ **Patton was the only one that stayed dry**_ – Jaz

 _ **Smart dog**_ – Preach

 _ **Pffffttt**_ – McG

 _ **Any of you booked flights yet?**_ – Preach

 _ **I have**_ – Amir

 _ **Of course you have**_ – McG

 _ **None of us here have, but we will**_ – Top

 _ **Can't wait, just let me know when you do**_ – Preach

 _ **Will do**_ – Top

 _ **In the meantime, make sure McG doesn't eat all your food**_ – Preach

 _ **Too late**_ – Jaz

 _ **A man's gotta eat**_ – McG

"Man, I've missed Preach." McG said wistfully, looking down at his phone.

"Yeah, we all have buddy. It'll be good to all be together again." Dalton replied.

The three of them remained out on the veranda, just making idle chit chat, laughing at old stories and tried to figure out what to do the next day, which will be McG's last full day in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

McG called it a night after deciding once again to just let Dalton make plans, he hadn't let them down so far with his suggestions.

Dalton needed to grab something from his truck, so he walked around the cabin to where the truck was parked out front. As he retrieved what he was looking for and slammed the door shut, he found himself quickly pinned up against the side of the truck, and a set of soft, but determined lips, settled over his.

Jaz had watched him walk around the side of the cabin and after a split second decision, she got up and followed him. She couldn't get what happened in the kitchen earlier out of her mind, and if she didn't follow up on it soon, she felt like she would self-combust.

She pressed herself against him as she kissed him eagerly. His immediate response and how quickly he pulled her even closer to him, suggested he had been waiting for this moment too.

"To be continued, right?" Jaz had pulled away to whisper in his ear, before moving down to kiss his neck.

Dalton could barely hold it together. Not only did he have no control over his reactions to Jaz, but _her_ seeking him out and initiating this little interlude was hot as fuck.

He kissed her back hotly and hungrily, bringing both hands to cradle her head and winding his fingers through her hair.

She kissed him back again and again, still pressing her hips into his, while he lowered one of his hands to reach up under her top and slide up her back, no bra strap stopping the journey. Knowing she had no bra on had made the late afternoon and evening a challenge for him. He had wanted to just rip her top off and bury himself between her breasts.

The hand running up and down her back, made its way to her front and slide up to palm her breast, making her kiss him even harder, if that was even possible.

He quickly spun them around so her back was now pressed against the truck and he whispered in her ear seductively, "You drive me crazy.

He continued to palm one of her breasts as he used his other hand to lift her top up so that he could suck her other nipple into his mouth. He flicked his tongue over the bud and she moaned in response and grasped his hair to hold his head close. He gave the same attention to her other nipple, before his lips landed back on her own.

Jaz's hands reached out for the button holding his shorts and with a flick of her wrist she had the button open and the fly all the way down. She reached in and took his whole length in her hand and she pumped it a few times before sliding to her knees.

Realising what she was about to do, Dalton lifted her back up so she was at eye level again, and she looked a little taken aback.

"Believe me Jaz, I want that so much, but I won't be able to stay quiet." He tried explaining. Even through his haze of desire, he knew that McG still wasn't that far away.

She nodded in understanding, and instead, wrapped her hand back around his cock and started to pump him up and down, slowly and deliberately.

"Oh god, Jaz. I want you so badly." Dalton panted, while his eyes rolled in the back of his head. He braced his hands on the truck on either side of her, for leverage and support. The feeling of her hand sliding up and down him, made him want to make love to her, right there and then. But they had waited this long, they could wait a bit longer until they were well and truly alone.

To ensure he didn't lose it completely, he quickly spun her around so she was facing the window of the truck, with her hands braced up against it for support. In that position he reached up under her top again with one hand, reminding her of their position in the kitchen earlier that day.

With his other hand, he reached around and flicked open the button and fly on her denim shorts and reached down to slide his fingers between her already very slick folds.

"Fuck." He heard Jaz breathe out and her hips immediately began to move against his fingers, her want for him was so strong.

He slide his fingers up and down her clit while he continued to fondle her breast with the other hand and just to add to her desire, he also started to kiss up and down her neck.

The sensations all over her body, along with the thrill of being outdoors and with McG not far away, all built up within her.

Dalton moved his fingers faster and he felt her start to almost collapse with desire.

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to be quiet with this sensory overload, she turned herself around to face him. As his fingers immediately found her sweet spot again, she grabbed his head to hold against her as she kissed him hard and deep to drown out her release.

Her body shivered and shook from the stimulation Dalton had provided and he had to virtually hold her up so she didn't collapse in a heap on the floor.

Once the vibrations started to abate, he pulled back a little to look at her. The glaze in her eyes was starting to clear but her all over glow, especially in the moonlight, made him feel a small pang in his chest. He just couldn't get enough of her.

Once they had gone to bed and they were wrapped up in each other's arms, Jaz returned his earlier sentiment, whispering to him, "I want you so badly too."

She reached for him then, wanting to return the immense pleasure she had felt not long ago.

Dalton held his breath momentarily and had to concentrate on inhaling and exhaling so that he didn't throw caution to the wind right there and then.

They both had the same thought running through their heads: They both loved McG, but couldn't wait until they were well and truly alone at the cabin.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm posting it a little bit earlier than I was going to, as I'm away on a school camp (I'm a teacher) for 9 days. I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can when I get back, but I have every intention of continuing with this story for a good long while yet! Thanks for reading and for the reviews - I absolutely love getting them.**

 **Also, if you're on Twitter or Instagram, I'm thebravefan on both, come say hi :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Here's the next chapter. Thanks for bearing with me while I was at camp. It was exhausting, but fun. Anyway, hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

The next day, Dalton was surprised to find McG already up when he got up early to let Patton out.

"Another early morning, buddy?"

"It's my last day, I want to make the most of it." McG explained.

"Fair enough." Dalton accepted, before sitting at the dining table with McG.

"Hey…" Dalton started quietly, "… I've been wanting to thank you for chatting to Jaz the other day about seeking some help about her nightmares. Whatever you said to her did the trick."

McG just shrugged, "She knew she needed help, it just took her some time to realise it. Hearing it from us was a wakeup call for her."

"Yeah but it was you she listened to, and I'm grateful for that." Dalton explained.

McG was quiet for a moment, thinking about how to word what he wanted to say, "Maybe it needed to come from someone who wasn't struggling with their own demons…"

Dalton just looked at him, frowning slightly.

"How are _your_ nightmares, Top?" He asked softly, but pointedly.

Dalton tried to look stoic, but opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't find the words.

"Let me guess, you haven't had any since sleeping in the same room as Jaz? But I'm going to guess you had plenty of them before that…" McG ventured, and he was right.

Dalton looked down at the table and thought back to the ten days before Jaz had arrived at the cabin, and the nightmares that plagued him almost every night. Visions of Hoffman, Hossein and Elijah were permanent features. But the worst had been about Jaz. Jaz getting taken by the Quds, Jaz being tortured, Jaz being killed before he could get to her, and then there were the nightmares that intertwined all of the above. He had only had one nightmare since Jaz arrived, but none since she had been sleeping next to him.

McG just waited to see if Dalton would respond, but when he didn't he suggested gently, "Maybe you need to talk to someone too, Top."

When Dalton looked up at him in surprise, McG explained, "I know you, Top. You blame yourself every time something goes wrong or doesn't go to plan. You place the weight of the whole team on your shoulders, and that's gotta weigh you down. You're an amazing leader, but blaming yourself for everything is both ridiculous and unsubstantiated."

Dalton just listened to what McG was saying, surprised that everything he said was absolutely spot on, and exactly how he felt.

"You can't carry all of that around with you. It'll eat away at you and start to affect your judgement. You taught us all that." McG pointed out before finishing off simply, "Maybe you need to talk to someone too."

Dalton remained quiet a few moments longer, just letting what McG had said sink in. He would encourage any of his team to seek help or guidance if they needed it. He should probably start to practice what he preached.

"You're right." He agreed quietly and McG just raised his eyes at him. "I don't say that often, so enjoy it." Dalton tried to joke before continuing, "No, you're right. If I'm encouraging Jaz to seek help, I should definitely do so too."

McG just nodded, "Let me know if you want me to set anything up."

"Thanks buddy." Dalton said simply.

McG was so glad that Top had been receptive. He had wanted to bring this up for a while, but was concerned that Dalton would shoot him down. After managing to convince Jaz, he knew that this was his window to try and convince Dalton too. Thankfully, Dalton had been on board.

* * *

Jaz got up not long after so they had breakfast together, before starting McG's last full day at the cabin.

Dalton didn't tell either one of them where they were headed as they left the cabin in his truck late in the morning, with Patton of course. He had saved this destination just for McG.

It took about half an hour to get there, but McG perked up in the back seat when he saw the sign, "A brewery?"

"That's not all…" Dalton teased as he parked his truck.

They all walked around to the beer garden around the back of the brewery, to where some games were set up.

"A CORN HOLE BREWERY!" McG practically squealed with his arms up in the air, making Jaz and Dalton nearly fall over laughing.

"I told you it existed, Jazzy." McG bragged to Jaz.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll let you have that one." Jaz surrendered.

"Top, this is fucking awesome." McG grinned at Dalton.

"Thought you'd like it. I'll get us some drinks." Dalton wandered into the brewery as McG and Jaz set themselves up on a table in the sun, right next to the corn hole goal boards.

They got right into playing a game when Dalton returned with their drinks. They spent a good few hours at the brewery playing corn hole, enjoying some lunch and Jaz and McG had a couple more beers, since they weren't driving.

After their lunch, a group of ladies had set themselves up on the goal boards next to them, and McG being McG, managed to infiltrate their game with a few killer smiles and well placed compliments.

Jaz and Dalton took a break and sat back at their table and watched McG in his element.

"I mean, could this day get any better for him? Beer, corn hole, pretty ladies…" Jaz chuckled.

"Thought I'd reward him for his good behaviour." Dalton joked.

They were sitting next to each other on the bench seat at the table, as close as they could without drawing any attention to themselves.

"I'm going to miss him when he's gone." Jaz said, tilting her head towards McG.

"Me too." Dalton admitted.

They both turned to look at each other and with small smiles and slightly pink tinged cheeks, they both knew they were also looking forward to having the cabin to themselves. They loved McG, they loved all of their team mates, but they were at the stage that they needed some time to themselves.

Time to explore what was happening between them. Time to explore where this might lead. Time to explore each other.

They both knew what the other was thinking. This time tomorrow, it would be back to being just the two of them and they wouldn't have to conceal their feelings or their sleep habits, or their reactions to each other.

* * *

McG was in high spirits as Dalton drove them back from the brewery in the afternoon.

"Thanks Top, that was awesome." McG said appreciatively.

"I'm sure it was lover boy." Jaz added sarcastically.

Dalton just laughed from the driver's seat, "No worries, buddy. Glad you enjoyed it."

"Man, I'm gonna miss this place, I totally get why you live here, Top." McG said genuinely.

"Well you're welcome back any time. Just give me a heads up so I can stock up on food." Dalton chuckled.

"Copy that."

They spent the rest of the afternoon fishing on the jetty. Dalton was pretty happy that he had managed to turn them all into fishing lovers. It was something they all seemed to genuinely enjoy, and he had every intention of finding some fishing opportunities in Turkey for when they are back on the job and in desperate need of some down time.

Compared to his last few weeks at home in these mountains, Turkey seemed another life time away. They would all be going back, that was inevitable, but in what capacity, he was unsure. They needed to wait and see how Preach's rehab progressed. His status would be a question mark for a good while yet. And of course, what was happening between himself and Jaz was still a mystery, even to the two of them. They were going to have to have a conversation, or ten, before long. Dalton couldn't decide if he was looking forward to that conversation, or dreading it.

All he knew at the moment was that he was happy. The happiest he had ever been in his life. He had always loved his job, that part of his life had always satisfied him. But his personal life had often fallen short. He knew they still weren't labeling anything, but whatever this mysterious relationship with Jaz was, it made him happy.

 _She made him happy_.

It was as simple as that. For now.

* * *

They barbequed for dinner that night and following that they sat around the fire, giving each other shit and making plans for visiting Preach. They were going to try and all arrive on the same day.

When Dalton wandered off to take a phone call, McG asked Jaz again if she had any plans to visit Elijah's family.

"I'm not sure. I'd like to, I'm just not sure when yet." Jaz explained.

"Maybe you could go before you visit Preach. I can meet you there if you want?" McG offered.

"Thanks for the offer, but I would be ok by myself. I know them pretty well." Jaz was appreciative of the offer, but if she went to visit Elijah's family, it was something she felt she needed to do herself. She had been in contact with them since Elijah passed away, but she hadn't seen them. She knew it would be emotional, for them and herself, but they had welcomed her like family the last few times she had visited them, and they were all she had left of Elijah.

"You still happy for me to tee up a meeting with Xander Martin for the week after we leave Preach's?" McG asked tentatively.

"Yep." Jaz nodded emphatically. Since she had made the decision to speak to someone, and had told Dalton about her decision, it was something she had become more comfortable with and more determined to tackle head on. It was an element of her life where she wanted to take back control, the sooner the better.

"Alright, I'll text you and let you know." McG told her, before continuing, "I'm proud of you, Jaz."

"Aww thanks, big bro." Jaz teased.

"Well you are annoying, like a little sister." McG explained.

"You love it." Jaz laughed and McG joined in with her.

Dalton came back to join them just them.

"Everything alright, Top?" McG asked.

"Yeah, just talking to one of my sister's, all good though." Dalton answered and McG just gave him the thumbs up signal.

"Well I might call it a night." Jaz announced as she stood up.

"We still going for breakfast on the way to the airport tomorrow?" McG asked.

"If it means no more breakfast burritos, I'm in." Jaz retorted.

"Ha ha, Jazzy. I know you're gonna miss me." McG replied sarcastically.

Jaz just smiled as she walked past McG and fist pumped him. She kept walking past Dalton and as her eyes met his briefly, the smile on her face widened slightly. He returned the smile as she held her fist out to fist pump him also. He returned the gesture in order to keep up appearances, before she went inside the cabin to bed.

Dalton and McG stayed outside a while longer. They had worked together a long time, and it was nice just to be able to kick back, chat and hang shit on each other, without the threat of a job cropping up at any stage.

As team medic, it was McG's job not to just look after his team mates, but also report back to his CO. Being on leave didn't change that. For that reason, he filled Dalton in on Jaz's plans to meet with Captain Martin after their long weekend at Preach's house.

Dalton took on the information and nodded slowly. "Good, I'm glad she's seeing Xander. She's talked to him before and I can testify as to how good he is."

"Want me to tee up a session for you too?" McG asked.

Dalton looked up at him questioningly.

McG continued with an explanation. "I mean, you trust him. It's the reason you sent him to talk to Jaz right? Maybe he should be the person you speak to also."

Dalton knew that McG made a very good point. He hadn't thought beyond the long weekend at Preach's just yet, but if Jaz was going to be in DC, maybe he should think about heading there too. He wanted to talk to Jaz about it first though, he didn't want to hinder her own treatment.

"I'll think about it and let you know." He said appreciatively. "Thanks, McG."

"Any time Top, any time."

* * *

Jaz was already asleep when Dalton crawled into bed that evening, but she rolled over instinctively to face him as soon as he was settled. With a soft smile on his face, he leant over to place a gentle kiss on her lips and when he pulled away he was surprised when she reached out to pull him back towards her to meet her lips again.

"Hi." He whispered to her with a smirk on his face and a twinkle in his eye.

"Hi." She echoed back sleepily, but with the same twinkle in her own eyes. She ran her hand over his chest, up his neck and let it rest on the side of his head as she brought his head to hers again to kiss him lingeringly.

"I thought you were asleep." Dalton mumbled in between kisses.

"I was. Think I'll go back to sleep now." She whispered and she pretended to turn away from him.

"No, no, no…" Dalton pleaded quietly and he pulled her back towards him and planted his lips back on hers.

Jaz couldn't help smiling as she returned his kiss and let out a small gasp as he pulled her even closer to him, so that she was lying on top of him.

"Sshhhhh." He whispered into her mouth as his lips found hers again and again. He cradled her face in both of his hands as he pulled away to look at her.

"I could kiss you all night." He whispered to her, looking deeply into her eyes.

She looked back into the depths of his eyes and leaned down to deepen their kiss.

"Me too." She whispered between kisses, "But that might kill us both."

As their kisses intensified even further, Dalton's hands released her face to roam all over her back, keeping her close to him. He let one of his hands wander down to rest on her ass and he held her there firmly. In response she rocked her hips against his, to which he let out a low, deep moan.

"See what I mean." She hissed against his lips, "It's like torture."

Taking in her words, he quickly rolled them over so that she was on her back and he was leaning over her. He slowly and deliberately placed a kiss to each of the scars scattered across her collar bones, and chest. When he pulled back to look at her, he spoke in a barely audible voice.

"Nothing is torturous with you, Jaz."

Jaz inhaled deeply and felt her eyes prick with tears. Her only response was to place both her hands on his face, thumbs running over his cheeks, and pull him down to meet her lips in a heartfelt kiss, trying to impart what she was feeling.

It was the only way she knew how to respond to him right then. The only way her heart knew how to respond. And boy was her heart working overtime at the moment.

* * *

Dalton was up first the next morning and put the coffee pot on ready for when McG and Jaz got up. Once it had brewed, he poured himself a mug and went outside to drink it on the back veranda as he let Patton out.

He stood there lost in thought.

Later today, he and Jaz would finally be alone together. Not that he hadn't enjoyed Amir and McG both visiting the cabin, in fact it had been a blast, but he knew that he and Jaz needed this. They had barely started whatever this was right before Amir got there and despite them both agreeing to cool things down once he arrived, when they had ended up sleeping in the same room again, that plan had flown out the window.

He was nervous. He hadn't dealt with a situation like this since… well he couldn't even remember. And at the root of it all was still the issue of him being her CO, and that wasn't going to go away.

Did he worry about that fact? Yes.

Did he care about that fact? Yes.

Was he going to let that fact get in the way of whatever this was? It might already be too late for that.

It wasn't his style to be reckless, to break or bend rules, or to let his heart get in the way of his head. But he couldn't ignore the overwhelming happiness he felt when he was with Jaz. The way he always wanted to touch her, or seek out her gaze. The way his body responded to her, and the way they kept each other's demons at bay, despite those still being unresolved.

This could either be the best decision of his life, or the worst. Throwing caution to the wind, he decided there was only one way to find out.

* * *

Jaz woke up not long after Dalton left the bedroom. She could smell the coffee brewing in the kitchen but decided to enjoy five more minutes in bed before getting up.

She ended up laying on her back just staring at the ceiling.

Today was the day that she and Dalton would finally be alone together again, and despite what their plans had originally been, things between them had continued to progress even with Amir and McG being there with them. They ended up sharing a bed again, and ended up sharing a lot more too.

She was nervous. She hadn't dealt with a situation like this… ever. And the fact of the matter was, he was still her CO.

Did she worry about that fact? Yes.

Did she care about that fact? Yes.

She had tried to take the lead from him in this situation, but she'd be lying if she said the situation hadn't plagued her.

She'd been known to be reckless and bend a few rules in the past. Hell, it was Top who had ripped into her for improvising in Tehran. But she had never done so in matters of the heart. No one else had ever mattered this much romantically. No one else had ever made her feel the way she felt when she was with him and she had certainly never responded to someone the way her body did with him.

This could be an absolute disaster, but she was willing to find out where this could go.

* * *

They were all up and out of the cabin by 9am, heading into town for some breakfast before dropping McG off at the airport.

They sat chatting as they waited for their meals in a café that Dalton had chosen.

"Jaz, if you change your mind about wanting company visiting Elijah's family, just let me know." McG reminded her.

"Oh, um – yeah. Thanks." Jaz faltered slightly, since she hadn't yet told Dalton that she was thinking of visiting.

Dalton could see her discomfort so addressed her soothingly, "That's a great idea Jaz, and they'll love seeing you."

Jaz let a ghost of a smile cross her face, thankful that he thought so.

Their meals arrived then, and Jaz was glad for the disruption. She hadn't finalised any plans just yet, but she really did want to see the Vallins', she just hadn't really filled Dalton in on that plan yet.

An hour and a half later, Dalton pulled his truck up outside the domestic terminal at the airport. They all got out of the car and McG put his bag on the ground as he turned to the other two to say goodbye.

He clasped hands with Dalton before pulling him in for a hug.

"Thanks Top, it's been unreal. I'll definitely be coming back at some stage."

"Anytime buddy, you know that.

McG turned to Jaz then and leant down to give her a hug and in doing so, stood up straight so she was lifted right off the ground.

Jaz giggled and gave him a big hug back. She then promptly whacked him on the shoulder and told him to put her down.

"So I'll see you both in just over a week, yeah?"

Jaz and Dalton both nodded in response.

With a flick of his chin and a hand waved in goodbye, he started walking backwards into the terminal.

"You two take care, huh? See you soon." McG turned around and with a knowing grin on his face, he left Dalton and Jaz by themselves.

"Good luck you two." He said to himself, with a smirk on his face.

* * *

The ride back from the airport was almost silent, comfortably so though. Their eyes met a few times and smiles crossed their faces. They'd waited for this day, and now they were finally alone again.

Dalton parked the truck outside the cabin and with another quick glance at each other, they got out of the truck and walked inside.

Jaz took a few steps into the cabin and turned around to face Dalton.

Dalton closed the front door behind him and turned to lean on it, facing Jaz.

They looked each other right in the eyes and let the smiles slowly take over their whole faces.

Dalton held out his hand to Jaz, and she looked down at it, before putting her own hand in his, and taking a step forward towards him.

As soon as she was close enough, he moved both his hands to her hips and she rested hers on his shoulders.

Still not breaking eye contact, Dalton leaned his head so their noses were millimetres apart.

"Alone at last." He whispered, before pressing his lips to hers and pulling her body flush against his.

* * *

 **Goodbye McG! Finally...**

 **I have the next chapter already written, but I'm not happy with it. I'll need a few days to try and improve it. The two chapters following that are good to go though. Thanks to all of you who continue to read. I'm always interested to know what you think, so please let me know :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**It's taken me a long time to edit this chapter, and I'm still not sure that I'm happy with it. I'm at the stage though, that I've changed it so many times that I'm starting to feel a bit delirious. I was unsure how I wanted to approach this moment, but I hope you like the way I chose to go. I decided just to keep it simple. Hope you enjoy :)**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did.**

* * *

 **Chapter 18**

"Let's go fishing."

"Huh?" Dalton asked, slightly perplexed.

A second ago, he and Jaz had been kissing each other, right in the middle of his cabin like they had been waiting to for over a week. Passionately, deeply and intimately. Their bodies were pressed together; their hands roaming all over each other.

They didn't need to look over their shoulders to see if anyone was watching, or stay quiet so as to not to draw attention to themselves. So when Jaz had pulled back abruptly and suggested fishing, Dalton hadn't been expecting that.

"Fishing, umm – let's go fishing… on the jetty." Jaz faltered as she repeated her suggestion.

Dalton looked down at her face, trying to get a read on her.

She looked right back at him, and tried to offer an explanation, "Let's just take a pause, momentarily."

Dalton looked into her eyes, and she looked right back. She wasn't backing out, she wasn't having second thoughts, she just needed a pause. He could definitely give her that.

"Let's go fishing." Dalton agreed with a smile on his face.

"Thank you." Jaz whispered and went into the bedroom to grab a couple of things.

Dalton watched her and then had a thought. While he went to gather the fishing gear, he made a quick call on his phone to tee something up. He wanted to do right by Jaz, she deserved that.

* * *

Out on the jetty they sat soaking up the sun, enjoying the serenity with their fishing rods in the water.

Jaz was hoping that she hadn't sent out the wrong signal to Dalton earlier on when she asked for a pause, but all of a sudden it had just been a bit too much for her. She never thought that the notion of being intimate with Adam Dalton would feel like too much, but the anticipation, made her… nervous. And Jaz didn't often get nervous. They had been waiting to be alone together again, and now that they were, with nothing holding them back, it all got a bit too real for a minute.

Dalton had been in her life for three years and he had gradually become more and more significant and important to her. She'd never been this close to anyone else, other than Elijah, and even that had been in a completely different way. She just needed a minute. A minute to breath. A minute to take this all in.

Having said all of that, she didn't want Dalton to think that she had changed her mind about anything, because that certainly wasn't the case.

"Top…" She started tentatively, "I hope I didn't send the wrong signal back there. I'm still all in, I just needed a second to make sense of… this." She tried to explain.

He looked over at her with a warm, understanding look on his face.

"Jaz, you can take all the time that you need. I don't want you to feel like there are any expectations here. We can go as slow as you need to." He said gently to her.

Jaz smiled at him, put her fishing rod down on the jetty, shuffled closer to him and leaned over to catch his lips in a quick kiss, "Oh, I don't need to go slow. I literally just needed a minute."

"Well, I hope it's ok that I've made us a dinner reservation for tonight. I want to take you out on a date." Dalton told her as he caught her hand in his and held on.

"You did? You do?" Jaz asked.

"You sound surprised. Of course I do."

"It's just… I mean I've never…" Jaz took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. "I've never really been on a first date before. Or any date for that matter. I've never been the type of girl anyone has wanted to take on a date."

She wasn't trying to make Dalton feel sorry for her, she was just saying it as it was. Her 'tomboy' antics had mostly chased the boys away, or made them feel inferior. She'd never let it bother her, she'd never cared enough about someone to let it get to her.

But now, here was Dalton, wanting to take her out on her first date and _their_ first date, and she was nervous again.

"Well you are the _only_ person I want to take on a date." He punctuated the sentiment with a kiss, leaving her blushing and looking adorable. Of course he'd never tell Jaz she looked adorable, she'd probably punch him.

He continued, "But there's something we need to get straight before our date."

Jaz just looked at him expectantly, getting nervous _again_ at what he would say.

"From now on, it's Adam. Not Dalton, not Top, just Adam. Do you think you can do that?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow.

She found herself blushing again and looked down at the jetty to gather herself. When she looked back up into his eyes she stuttered a little bit, "Umm, yeah. I can do that."

He smiled at her and pulled her towards him again. "Good." He whispered as he caught her lips with his. "Dinner is at seven." He said between kisses.

"Mmmhmm," was her only response as his lips found hers again and again.

* * *

They spent a few more hours fishing, in between kissing each other whenever they could, before they headed back to the cabin to get ready for dinner.

As soon as they got in, Jaz announced she was taking a shower to get ready for their date. While she did so, all Dalton could think about was his double shower and how McG had wondered if he had ever put it to good use. Truth be told, he had never invited anyone else to the cabin, or wanted to. But damn he was going to have to get the picture of Jaz in that shower out of his head if he wanted to be comfortable at all this evening.

An hour later, Dalton called out to Jaz to see if she was ready as it was time to leave.

He turned around as she opened the door to his bedroom and stepped out, and to say he was lost for words was an understatement. His jaw just about dropped to the floor and he couldn't actually tell if he was drooling or not.

Jaz wore the same black dress that she had worn in DC for dinner with the whole team when they had got home from their deployment. He had tried to avoid staring at her the first time, but this time, he didn't bother to hide it. It was simple, but clung to all her curves, and this time, Dalton knew what most of those curves looked like.

"Wow, Jaz. Wow." He breathed out.

She blushed in response, "Is this ok?"

He stared at her a moment longer before walking towards her, catching her face in his hands, burying his fingers in her long hair and kissing her like she was oxygen.

He walked her slowly backwards until her back came up against the wall. Not taking his lips off hers, he pressed himself so he was flush against her and deepened the kiss even further.

When he felt her starting to laugh into his mouth, he pulled back and looked at her through his glazed eyes. It made Jaz's breath catch in her throat but she brought one of her hands up to rest against his lips.

"We better go, or we'll miss our reservation."

Dalton's eyes started to clear and he nodded slowly and took a step back.

"You're right. Let's go before I rip that dress to shreds."

Jaz smirked at him and blushed again. She felt like all she did was blush around him. He made her feel things she didn't know she was capable of feeling. And she knew if they didn't leave this cabin in the next minute, both of their clothes would be ripped to shreds.

* * *

Their reservation that evening was at a new restaurant that even Dalton hadn't been to yet. It played soft piano back ground music and had a wine list that that came with its own sommelier.

It was a lot fancier than Jaz and Dalton were used to, but they still had a great time.

They chatted, laughed, tried to decipher the fancy menu and work out which cutlery to use with each course.

When it was time for dessert, they decided to head to a diner close by where Adam said they did the best chocolate brownies ever. Deciding that was a big statement, Jaz had to test this out for herself.

As she moaned over the taste of the brownie, and thoroughly agreed with Dalton's assessment, Dalton tried really hard not to imagine her moaning about other things. It was a battle he was losing though.

Jaz sensed when his mood started to change and took some delight in licking all the brownie remnants from her lips as slowly as she could. Dalton knew exactly what she was doing, and it was working.

* * *

An hour later Dalton parked the truck out the front of the cabin and turned to look at Jaz.

"Is this where I thank you for the date, and you walk me to the door?" She smirked.

"It's where you ask me if I want to come in for some coffee… In my own cabin." He smirked right back

"Coffee, huh?"

"So I've heard." He shrugged.

"Well then let's go and get some coffee." She said in a low voice, looking at him through her thick eyelashes.

Dalton's eye's darkened as he gazed back at her, before they quickly got out of the car and headed inside.

As soon as he closed the door behind him, and turned around, he found Jaz right there in front of him, and the ambience in the cabin suddenly shifted.

"Still want some coffee?" She asked in her deep rasp, staring into his crystal clear blue eyes.

Dalton stared right back at her, into her beautiful big brown eyes before lowering his eyes to look at her luscious pink lips, "Not as much as I want you." He confessed.

Jaz's own eyes flicked to his lips as her heart pounded in her chest. The electricity between them sparked in anticipation.

Not being able to hold back any longer, Dalton grabbed her and kissed her slowly and passionately, both hungry for each other's touch and taste. She tasted of the chocolate she had eaten for dessert and the wine they had shared, and he wanted to taste that all night.

Jaz ran her hands down Dalton's chest, unbuttoning his shirt as she did so, and helped him shrug out of it. The heat of her palms on him had his skin tingling and he let his fingers run through her silky hair as she kissed him all over his chest.

As she stood back up to return her lips to his, he reached around to slowly lower the zipper on her dress. It fell from her shoulders and puddled at her feet, leaving her standing there in nothing other than her black lacy underwear and matching bra.

Dalton felt all the air leave his lungs and had to consciously remind himself to breathe.

"You're stunning, Jaz." He breathed while the pupils in his eyes continued to dilate.

He pulled her as close as possible with his hands on her waist and kissed her. His tongue ran along her lower lip and she opened her mouth to grant his tongue access and they kissed each other open mouthed and deeply. They ran their hands all over each other, feeling the others' hot skin against their own and searching for a way to quell their desire.

With their lips never relinquishing each other's, Dalton slowly walked Jaz backwards towards his bedroom. He guided her through the doorway to the foot of the bed, where he stepped back momentarily to remove his pants. The second he had discarded them, he drew Jaz back into his arms, already missing the feel of her against him.

He sifted his fingers through her long hair as their hands roamed all over each other. Jaz's hands ran down his back, feeling the goose bumps she was arousing upon his skin and the shiver that followed. She ran her hands all the way down to his ass, sliding her hands inside his boxer briefs to grasp him and pull him even closer to her.

In turn, Dalton untangled his hands from her hair and ran them down her back, deftly unhooking her bra in one smooth movement.

Jaz pulled away fractionally to observe with a smirk, "Looks like you've had a lot of practice doing that."

Not moving his lips too far from hers, he smiled, but admitted, "Not as much as you think, and not for a long time."

With that, he slid his right hand up her waist and across her rib cage to cup her breast in his palm, his eyes appraising all her curves and wanting to touch every one of them. She instinctively arched into him, desperate to feel his touch all over her.

He massaged her breast and ran his thumb over her nipple, making it peak and crave even more attention. Jaz sighed a breathy sound as she arched even further into him, chasing his touch.

Jaz moved her hands from his backside to slide his boxers down his legs so he was standing completely naked in front of her. Regardless of what they had been engaging in for the last couple of weeks, this was the first time she had seen him completely naked, and her eyes darkened as she took him all in. It was as if he was carved from stone. Chiselled, hard and absolutely beautiful.

Needing to touch him immediately, she reached out her hand to take his length in her hand and she ran her thumb across the head of his cock, feeling him jerk slightly in response. Every nerve ending was on hyper alert as her touch drove him crazy. Lowering her hand to pump him slowly, she felt him grow even more in her palm. He had to lean down to place his own hand on top of hers and closed his eyes in concentration.

"If you keep doing that, with the way I'm feeling right now, I'm not going to last long." He rasped, looking at her through hooded eyes. It took every bit of control he had not to let himself erupt prematurely. Instead, he lifted her up so her legs were wrapped around his waist and walked over to the bed placing her down on the bed and laying himself on his side, leaning over her.

He cupped her cheek in his hand, savouring her beauty and their mouths found each other's once again. He wanted to touch every piece of her at the same time, and ran his hand down her body, between her breasts and inched his fingers towards the top of her underwear.

Pulling his lips away from hers, he looked her straight in the eye as he slid them down over her legs. This was the first time he had seen her completely naked and his breath caught as he looked at her appreciatively. He wanted to explore every curve, every valley, even every scar. She was stunning. Absolutely stunning.

"Fuck Jaz, you're so beautiful." Was all he could say desperately, before slamming his lips back on hers, kissing her with as much depth and passion as he could. They couldn't get enough of each other's lips and their hands held on tight to each other.

Dalton's hand wandered down her body, circling her breasts until they were both peaked with desire, caressing her flat stomach as the nerves inside tingled, and slowly slipped between her folds and sought out her clitoris. As soon as he made contact with her, she hummed in approval and continued doing so as he stroked her in a slow and steady pace, just teasing her.

"You're so wet." He groaned against her lips.

She moaned as he increased the speed of his strokes, "You make me wet," causing him to smile against her lips in response and slip a finger inside her slick cavity. Jaz craved more and more of his touch and arched her back in an attempt to feel him deeper inside of her.

He slid his finger in and out of her as his thumb made circles around her clit, eliciting even more moans from her, so glad they no longer had to keep quiet. As the sensations started to build up inside of her, her hips began to lift of the bed, searching for more of his touch deep inside of her, yearning for it.

When she couldn't stand it any longer, she lowered her hand to cover his.

"Adam…" She breathed out, trying to compose herself enough to continue.

"… I want you inside of me. I _need_ you inside of me."

That was unequivocally the sexiest thing he had heard. Ever.

She pulled him closer toward her so that he was laying on top of her, eager to feel him covering every inch of her. He lay cradled between her legs and for the first time their entire bodies were completely skin to skin from head to toe, every inch of them alive with desire.

"Do we need, uh…?" Dalton had to check.

"No, all good. I'm covered."

Dalton was secretly very happy to hear that. He was desperate to feel every inch of her against him and they knew they both had a clean bill of health due to the regular check-ups they had as part of their jobs.

Jaz pulled him down to her and locked her lips on his once again. Her body was on fire and she wanted to share everything with this man. Her hands made their way down his back to settle on his ass, and she could feel him rock hard against her opening, so tantalisingly and teasingly close.

She rocked her hips back against his, feeling him against her clit, nerve endings aflame, as her wetness coat his cock.

She whispered once again in his ear, "I need you, Adam."

There was no way he could prolong it any longer after hearing that. Holding her gaze, as if looking right into her soul, he shifted his hips and slide inside of her in one smooth movement, evoking groans from deep inside the both of them.

They both paused momentarily, eyes closed, foreheads pressed together, both vibrating with need and savouring the full feel of each other. Finally.

"I need you too, Jaz." Dalton whispered as they locked eyes again and he started to move inside of her.

He thrust into her with long, slow movements, gathering her hands, lacing his fingers with hers and holding them above her head on the pillow. He caught her lower lip between his, nipping her with his teeth, feeling her starting to thrust her hips up against his own as her desire built.

Releasing one of her hands, he lowered his own to cup her breast while he sucked her nipple into her mouth. Hearing Jaz hum her approval, he grazed his teeth against her nipple and she writhed in ecstasy.

She thrust back harder against him and their bodies moved together like a well-choreographed dance, in perfect synchronicity with each other, as if they had been doing this their whole lives.

Jaz pulled her other hand away from his and raked her fingertips down his back, making their way down to his ass and holding on tight to pull him deeper inside of her. The feel of her fingertips digging into his skin put all of his nerve endings on notice, and as she lifted her legs and locked them around his waist, he felt himself slip even deeper inside of her, never feeling so at one with anyone.

Jaz nearly rolled her eyes in the back of her head feeling Adam even deeper inside of her and as his thrusts picked up more speed, she held a hand to his cheek and kissed up and down his neck, hotly and wantonly.

He felt himself start to shudder with the feel of her luscious lips against him and he let out a low growl. The power that Jaz had over him, had him feeling things he had never felt before.

Feeling Adam thrusting harder inside her had Jaz arching her back and thrusting back against him, desperate to have him as deep inside her as possible. Over and over her hips arched up to catch him, meeting him every inch of the way. They were in perfect rhythm, both of them exclaiming their pleasure with each thrust.

Feeling the ripples in his body starting to build up, Adam thrust even faster, feeling her slick velvety warmth start to shudder.

"Oh god." Jaz exclaimed as her own body started to ripple around Adam.

They locked eyes once more and didn't move them from each other as they allowed their bodies to seek out what they needed from each other, sensations building until they didn't think they could take much more.

Adam could feel Jaz start to clench even tighter around him and he knew he wasn't far away himself.

"Fuck Jaz, you feel amazing." Dalton rasped as the current between them was about to overflow.

Eyes still locked, they couldn't tear them away as their cries became louder. Faster and faster they moved, making sounds they didn't know they could make and seeing colours they didn't know existed.

"Come for me Jaz," Adam whispered to her and that was enough to send her over the edge, exploding with pleasure as every nerve in her body vibrated in release.

"Oh, Adam." She cried as her body convulsed, feeling heat explode through her from the core of her stomach, through her lower body and rising up towards her nipples.

Seeing her come like this was a catalyst, causing him to release his own bliss.

Together their bodies shook and shuddered as they cried out each other's names in ecstasy, holding tight as the vibrations ran through both their bodies, as if they were the one entity.

Dalton continued to move inside of her as they rode out the waves of euphoria and their lips locked, ensuring their intimate moment continued for as long as possible.

When they began to feel the waves starting to subside, they came up for air with their chests heaving as if they had just run a marathon. They rest their foreheads against each other and tried to get their breath back, neither one of them wanting to move away from the warmth, comfort and rapture they had just sought out from each other.

"Wow, Jaz." Adam panted as he caught her lips with his, nibbling softly on her lower lip.

"Yeah, wow." Jaz breathed out in agreeance with him, holding him tight against her, both of them savouring what had just transpired between them, not quite believing that it finally happened.

* * *

When Dalton woke up the next morning, just before sunrise, it was to feel soft kisses being placed along his chest and the hollow of his neck. They had fallen asleep the night before, still naked in each other's arms, both thoroughly satiated but exhausted.

Jaz had woken about five minutes before Dalton, with her face buried in his chest. As the previous evening had flashed back to her, the rush of emotion that swept over her had been unfamiliar, but certainly not unwelcome.

The smile that spread across his face as Dalton himself remembered last night's activities was reflected on Jaz's face when she pulled back to see him awake.

"Good morning." He whispered with a sleepy, but soft smile on his face as he leant down to plant a kiss on her lips.

"Morning." She whispered back, equally as softly.

He looked into her eyes with so many thoughts going through his mind. One of them spurted out of his mouth like he didn't have control over his voice, "Any regrets?"

Jaz looked straight back at him and drowned in those beautiful blue eyes, which were desperately searching hers. She leaned over, placed her hand on his chest and kissed him open mouthed and intimately. She moved one of her legs so it slid between the two of his, feeling his morning erection pressed against her thigh. She slide herself up and down slowly, feeling last night's hunger beginning to build again.

"Good answer." He murmured, while his eyes glazed over at the feel of her moving against him.

"What about you?" She whispered in return, still pressed intimately against him.

He reached up and dragged her head back down to kiss her hungrily. While doing so he moved her leg, sliding it all the way over his own leg so that she was straddling his hips while lying on top of him. He placed one hand on her ass and held her down against him and he ground his hips into hers.

"Does that answer your question?" He asked against her lips.

"Mmmhmm." Jaz breathed out while she rocked against him, trying to satisfy the ache within her.

Dalton lifted himself into a sitting position, with Jaz straddling his lap and his hardness sandwiched between them. He caught her lips with his again and kissed her slowly, but deeply. His hands roamed over her back pressing them close together with Jaz's breasts flattened against his chest. His hands wandered down to her hips and he moved them slowly back and forth, so she rocked against his cock.

He pulled back to look into her big brown dilated eyes and she looked sexy as hell with her kiss swollen lips and her sleep entangled hair. Holding her gaze, he lifted her hips as she blinked slowly and caught her breath in anticipation. She put her hand between them to guide his cock to her entrance and with her eyes never leaving his, she lowered herself down onto his length, taking him inch by inch until she felt him deep inside of her, encased in her heat.

Placing her hands on his shoulders for leverage, she began to rock her hips back and forth and he felt her warmth enclose him completely.

They made love gently and intimately.

Their orgasms built up slowly as Jaz moved herself up and down, grinding herself deeply against Adam, feeling him bottom out with each stroke.

As she arched her back, trying to feel him as deeply as possible, Dalton leant forward and sucked her nipple into his mouth, while holding her close to him. The added sensation tipped her over the edge and she threw her head back as her orgasm was teased from her with the continuing pleasure Dalton was providing.

Feeling Jaz clenching and quivering around him, he shuddered in ecstasy himself, spilling himself inside of her, and they rode out the waves of pleasure together.

As they rocked together slowly, not quite ready to part just yet, Dalton buried his head against her chest and she enclosed her arms around him, gripping each other tightly.

She kissed his head, running her fingers through his hair and holding him close. He breathed her in as his hands made slow circles on her back, still holding her close, still not willing to let go yet.

It was a good job they were alone in the cabin. Between last night and this morning, they hadn't held back in their new found indulgence of each other.

Last night had been about pure need. The result of their anticipation of each other, of their exploring each other and of their desire for each other.

This morning was about appreciation. The appreciation of what they had found with each other.

Dalton pulled back to look at Jaz and kiss her tenderly. She laid a hand on his cheek, and thread her fingers through his beard as she kissed him back. They laid back down and snuggled up together. The mutual satisfaction they had experienced still running through their minds as fatigue started to wash over them.

Neither of them had felt an intimacy like this before. Neither of them had any regrets and neither of them could quite put into words, the way that they were feeling.

* * *

 **Like I said at the beginning, I changed this chapter so many times, I'm not even sure if I managed to convey what I wanted to. This writing business is hard. I know exactly how I wanted it to play out in my head, but getting it out was a lot harder than I expected. Please be honest with what you think. I honestly don't know how I feel about this chapter. Thanks for reading and I love any reviews that you leave :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Here is a mostly fluffy chapter. It took me longer to post than I thought because I already had this written and ready to go, but had to make some changes once I made changes to the previous chapter. I wasn't sure how many chapters to write of the two of them alone, but I thought we deserved a few after them taking so long to get their act together. Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)**

 **I don't own The Brave or it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 19**

When Jaz and Dalton managed to drag themselves out of bed late in the morning to get themselves some breakfast, they realised that they needed to do a food shop. Having McG there had been a blast, but in true McG style, he had consumed a lot of the food and snacks and their stores were now severely depleted.

They headed into town in Dalton's truck, eager to stock up on supplies, but much more eager to get back to the cabin as quick as they could.

Something had changed overnight. Their intimacy had reached a new level and now every time they touched or looked at each other, it seemed different to before.

Jaz sat in the passenger seat trying hard to look out the window, but she kept finding her gaze being drawn back to Dalton – to _Adam_ , continually. She usually had her quiet watching of him pretty down pat. She'd learnt to do so as a sniper, and then watching him around base, covertly of course, had become a habit.

Now it was more than a habit, it was a need. It was like she had no control over her eye movements. The problem with that was, as soon as her gaze locked onto him, the rest of her body got on board at the same time, and that was something else she had no control over. She had been struggling with it for the last couple of weeks, probably for a lot longer actually, but after last night, she's not sure her head would win the struggle anymore.

As Dalton drove, he was trying really hard to concentrate on the road. He was usually a master of compartmentalising, it was what made him one of the best at what he does. At the moment though, he was finding it very difficult to compartmentalise anything about Jaz. In fact he was finding it very difficult to think about anything other than Jaz. And how she felt. And how she tasted.

As he glanced over at her in the passenger seat, he found her already looking at him, with a secret smile on her face.

Fuck.

He pulled over the truck, as quickly and as safely as he could, leant over to pull her close and kissed her like he was trying to brand her, like he didn't already know what her lips tasted like. Her response was immediate. It was almost like he had read her mind. They pressed their lips together and kissed each other hungrily, grasping each other as they did so and wondering how they had survived three years without doing this sooner.

Dalton wanted to pull Jaz onto his lap and touch every part of her, but he knew if they did that, they wouldn't make it to the store, and then they would be in the same predicament as they were currently in – no food.

If only uber eats delivered to the Blue Ridge Mountains!

Jaz must have had the same thought because she pulled back with a small laugh. The spark in her eye was enough to light a fire, but the rumble in her stomach had her grasping reality momentarily.

"If we don't go now, we'll never make it." She tried to convince both herself and Dalton.

"Right." Dalton replied reluctantly, before gathering himself and getting back on the road.

Both of them were grinning like cheshire cats, sometimes to themselves and sometimes to each other, as they continued into town.

* * *

After returning from their sizable supermarket expedition, they decided to go for a hike. Patton could do with the exercise and they both had plenty of energy to burn. Not that they couldn't think of any other ways to burn energy, but they knew if they didn't get out of the cabin when they could, they might never leave it.

Dalton wanted to ask Jaz about visiting the Vallins' and thought this was as good a time as any.

"You know, I think it's a great idea for you to go and see Elijah's family." Dalton started.

Jaz looked at him sideways, "Trying to get rid of me already?"

Dalton chuckled, "Not at all, but I'm sure they would love to see you. I think it would mean a lot to them."

"Yeah." Was all Jaz answered quietly.

"I could go with you if you want." He offered after sensing some reluctance in her.

Jaz just sighed and took a moment to gather her thoughts, "Thanks for the offer, but it's not that. I guess I'm just nervous. Elijah was always with me when I visited them and I'm just not sure what to expect."

Dalton nodded his head in understanding. He hated that Jaz's own family was so fucked up that it made her nervous to be around a normal family. But what is normal right? His own was far from it.

"I'm no expert, but I think you would all be able to find some comfort in each other. You were his best friend and they are his flesh and blood."

"They're all I have left of him now." Jaz murmured sadly. She knew Elijah lived on in her memories, and there were so many wonderful memories. But the physicality of Elijah, that was gone. His family were the last thread of that.

"All the more reason to go and see them."

"You sure you're not trying to get rid of me?" Jaz asked him again, trying to make light of the situation, as was her normal defence.

Dalton stopped in his tracks and grabbed her hand to stop her also. He pulled her closer to loop his arms around her waist, wanting to give her some comfort that he knew she needed.

"Trust me, I do not want you to leave, but I think this could help you… and them. I know they ask about you all the time." Dalton revealed.

"You've been in touch with them?" Jaz asked, surprised at what he had just told her.

"Yeah we email every now and then. Elijah was family, therefore his family are family." He explained simply.

Jaz felt a warmth spread all over her from the inside out after hearing this and she looped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his lingeringly. He really was amazing, just when she thought he couldn't get any better, he continued to surprise her.

There had been times when she thought she was all alone in her grief for Elijah. They had all been friends, great friends actually, but her bond with him had gone deeper. They all knew that and respected that and she would never forget the comfort they all gave her in their own ways when they lost him.

Preach had been the father figure she had always needed. He comforted her with a touch to her shoulder or a kiss to her forehead, spoke softly to her and encouraged her to talk about Elijah when she could. McG made sure she ate and drank, and tried hard to make her smile in whatever way he could. It didn't always work, but eventually he broke through some of her grief in a way that only McG's lovable nature could. And Top had been a steady presence. Always there, whether it was on the couch while she was staring into space, or at his desk while she cleaned her guns, sometimes several times a day. He carried her to bed when exhaustion finally kicked in and was the first by her bedside when the nightmares reared their ugly heads.

Trying to move on had been hard, and she still thought about Elijah multiple times a day. She thought she had been alone in that, but she should have known better. They had all lost him. Yes, they could all compartmentalise, they had to in their jobs, but they never forgot.

Dalton just held her close, tightening his grip on her and letting her take what she needed from this kiss. He knew she didn't have the words, but her kiss spoke volumes. When she pulled back, her eyes were glassy with unshed tears and she just ran her thumb over his lips.

She mulled things over for a couple of minutes before saying quietly, "I think I should definitely go and visit for a couple of days."

"They'll love seeing you." Dalton smiled gently at her. "If you change your mind, I can still come with you."

"Thanks, I'll think about it."

* * *

It was still only early afternoon by the time they got back to the cabin, but since it was another hot day and they had worked up a fair sweat on their hike, Dalton decided to have a shower.

Jaz was in the kitchen trying to decide between a coffee or a beer when she heard the water in the shower turn on. She stopped what she was doing as a thought entered her head. It was a thought she had had numerous times since being at the cabin, but this was the first opportunity that presented itself to act on it.

Without overthinking it, she stripped off her clothes and headed to the bathroom.

Dalton was standing under the cool flow of water, still too hot from the hike to have the water temperature any higher, when he heard the shower door open. Surprised, he turned around to see Jaz as she stepped in and joined him with a look of want glistening in her eyes.

"Time to finally put this double shower to good use." She teased as she lathered shower gel in her hands and started to rub her hands all over his shoulders and chest. As always, her touch did something to him that he couldn't explain. He wanted her hands everywhere and closed his eyes in satisfaction as her fingernails raked over his nipples. She followed the path of her hands and kissed him all over his chest before continuing to lather soap across his taught stomach and abs.

She made her way to stand behind him to lather the soap across his back and down over his ass. God she loved his ass. She had admired it almost from the first day they met. It was hard not to when something was that perfect.

Feeling bold, she reached a hand around from behind him to gently run her hand over his testicles and cock. He nearly jumped when he felt her hand brush against him, and quickly turned around to face her.

"My turn."

With that, he grabbed the shower gel and turned her around so that she was facing away from him. He used his hands to start spreading the soap along her shoulders, gently massaging them as he did so causing her to relax and sink into his touch. He let his hands glide down over her back, before bringing them around to run them across her flat stomach.

Jaz had her eyes closed, revelling in his touch, when she felt his hands glide further up to cup her breasts. He massaged them to spread the soap around, before teasing each nipple with his fingertips. The spark she felt from her nipples all the way to her centre intensified as he continued to let his hands caress her breasts, enjoying how his hands glided over her thanks to the slipperiness of the soap.

He started to move one hand lower, down her rib cage and across her stomach, until he reached her centre. As he dipped his hand even further to spread her apart and stroke her softly, she let her head fall backwards onto his chest with a small cry of pleasure as he continued to touch her. Heat flowed through every part of her body. His hands were like magic and she couldn't get enough.

As he continued to caress her she reached a hand up behind her to grasp him in her own hand and moved her hand against him in the same rhythm with which he was playing her body like an instrument. They writhed in tandem before Jaz turned around to face him and kissed him thoroughly and demandingly.

Pulling back from him she held his gaze and teasingly let her tongue lick her lips as she lowered herself to her knees in front of him and he couldn't look away. She had never looked sexier.

Reaching out to fold her palm around the length of him and pumping him a couple of times, she gently lowered her mouth to slowly lick his head, still not breaking eye contact.

The sensation of Jaz's tongue against the most sensitive part of his body had Adam sucking in air through his back teeth, and he held her gaze while her tongue continued to tease him, licking up and down his shaft. As she lowered her mouth around him, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his hands sunk into her hair to grip her tight.

Jaz took him into her mouth while her hand continued to caress the base of his cock. The combined pleasure of her mouth and her touch had Dalton nearly seeing stars. She moved her mouth up and down his shaft in long deliberate movements, sucking as much of him into her mouth as possible.

He tasted just how she thought he would and she lowered her mouth all the way down to his base, taking him all in her mouth and sucking hard as she released him. Dalton was barely hanging on to control and as she performed the same movement again, he lifted her to her feet and held her against the wall of the shower.

"I need to be inside of you." He practically growled as he sought out her gaze for permission, which she returned eagerly.

Still with his cock in her hand, Jaz spread her legs apart and guided him to her entrance. She braced herself against the cold shock of the tiles, but as he pushed up inside of her, his warmth spread from her inside out.

The feel of being so close to each other still had them pausing briefly to savour their new intimacy. Their breaths were ragged as their chests heaved in anticipation and their lips met in an all-consuming kiss.

As he started to move inside of her, he lifted one of her legs to wrap around his hips, allowing him to sink deeper within her. She moaned at the sensation and held onto his hips as he thrust inside of her with long, deep strokes.

Every stroke and every touch just increased their need for each other. He held her close to him with one hand on her thigh and the other on her waist. They kissed hungrily, their mouths devouring each other as they moved in sync with each other.

Adam started to thrust harder and faster into her. Jaz's head fell back against the tiles to catch her breath as her body started to convulse against him.

"You feel so good, Jaz." He whispered in her ear before kissing her neck just below her ear lobe, causing the convulsions to gain momentum.

"So do you." She whispered back, gripping his ass with her hands and digging her fingernails in for extra leverage.

The sensation of her nails shot right up into his cock and he thrust even harder. She guided his hips against hers, trying to pull him as far into her as he would fit, and feeling herself getting closer and closer to release.

The water still raining down on them from the shower head was causing their already electrified skin to spark even more in response, sliding and slipping all over each other.

Their hips met each other every inch of the way, moving in tandem and they gained even more momentum. Fingers dug into each other and they moaned the other's name as they reached the abyss beckoning them.

Dalton's cock jerked hard inside of her as his thighs shook with his release. His pulse was so fast, as if he had just won a sprint and his head was spinning with all the endorphins he's currently feeling and releasing.

Jaz was with him every step of the way. Her own release was exclaimed with a loud cry and losing all sense of control over her body, she clung to him, leaving marks from her nails on his body.

Dalton had just enough energy left to hold her up, still pressed together against the wall of the shower, letting the fall of water wash their sweat and slickness away.

They clung to each other and tried to get their breath back. Each breath still shaky from the aftermath of their love making, but as they got a handle on it they both just smiled at each other, still not quite believing this was real.

* * *

They enjoyed a big dinner that evening having worked up quite an appetite over the last day. Dalton had cooked steaks for the both of them, while Jaz had put together a salad.

Just after dinner, they heard from Preach on their group chat.

 _ **Anyone else booked flights yet?**_ – Preach

"Shit, we need to get onto that." Dalton said to Jaz.

 _ **Not yet big guy, but I'll look at them in the morning**_ – Top

 _ **Me too Preach, but I'll be coming from the Vallins'. Decided to see them on the way**_ – Jaz

 _ **That's great Jaz, they'll love seeing you**_ – Preach

 _ **Glad you've decided to go, Jaz**_ – McG

 _ **Lovely idea, Jaz**_ – Amir

Jaz smiled to herself seeing those messages. They were her own personal cheering squad and she knew she had made the right decision to go.

 _ **Your Mom booked your flight for you yet, McG?**_ – Amir

 _ **Actually, she has… all the way to Lebanon to see your Mom**_ – McG

 _ **LMAO! Good one, McG**_ – Jaz

 _ **You sound surprised**_ – McG

 _ **Well you're not usually that funny**_ – Jaz

 _ **She's right**_ – Amir

 _ **Ouch! I'll book mine tomorrow too, Preach**_ \- McG

 _ **Sounds good. Looking forward to it**_ – Preach

The team were all going to try and arrive at Preach's on the same day if possible, for both convenience and to maximise their time together. They were all looking forward to seeing Preach, they didn't quite feel complete when he wasn't around.

They cleared away their dinner and Jaz sat up on the kitchen bench drinking a beer, while Dalton finished washing up the remnants that he couldn't manage to pile into the dishwasher.

Jaz smiled to herself just watching Dalton – _Adam,_ looking completely at home and domestic in his kitchen. It's not like she's never seen him in the kitchen before. In Incirlik, they all had their turn in the kitchen, but there were always others around, and more recently Amir had taken over the dominance in the kitchen, not that any of them were complaining about that.

But in this instance, it was the simple domesticity that she couldn't drag her eyes away from. The way his strong arms cleaned the dishes, the small crinkle in his nose as he concentrated on scrubbing the tough bits, his broad shoulders as he reached to put some dishes away and the way his face kept flicking to hers to share a smile.

Once he'd finished up, he got himself his own beer from the fridge, took a long sip and stood in front of Jaz.

"Have you finished objectifying me yet?" He asked cheekily.

Jaz snorted her beer up her nose, and while they both fell about laughing, she managed to retort, "Get over yourself."

Dalton kept laughing while he asked, "Well, am I wrong?"

Jaz calmed her laughing down to a flirtatious smile and reached out and grabbed him by the front of his t-shirt to drag him closer to her.

"Not wrong." She admitted cheekily.

He took another step forward to stand between her legs and whispered to her with a smirk, "Perve."

Jaz laughed that deep rasp of hers before reaching so her lips were only millimetres away from his.

"Guilty." She murmured before dragging him those last few millimetres closer to press her lips against his.

What started out as a cheeky kiss soon gained momentum as they both gave in to the feelings evoked whenever they are in close proximity.

Without separating their lips, Dalton placed his beer on the kitchen bench and opened his mouth to Jaz's insistent tongue, cradling her face in his hands to deepen the kiss.

She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him to her as close as she could, her lips chasing his, seeking out all she could from them.

Their lips stayed locked together as Dalton gathered her in his arms with her legs anchored around his waist, and carried her over to the couch. He sat down with her straddling his lap, hands roaming all over her back, underneath her tank top, seeking out the smoothness of her skin.

She leaned back to allow him to lift her top over her head, removing it completely, and he zoned in on her neck, kissing her up and down the length of it, causing her to let out a low moan of approval and grind her hips down into his.

Hearing her moan turned him on even more.

"I can't get enough of you." He growled into her neck, holding her close at the small of her back, "I want to kiss you everywhere."

Jaz levelled her gaze to meet his, their shared desire obvious in the reflection of their eyes.

"I want that too."

He lifted them both up to switch their positions on the couch, laying her down against the cushions as he settled himself over her. His lips found their way back to hers as soon as they could. His lips craved her skin and he wanted to put his lips everywhere.

Jaz kissed him back with abandon. The feeling of Adam Dalton lying on top of her was indescribable, and the feelings he evoked inside of her were much the same.

He trailed his kisses away from her mouth and proceeded to direct his attention down her neck, making sure to linger on the sweet spot where her neck almost became her shoulder that he already knew drove her wild. His lips continued on their journey across her chest and down her sternum, sidestepping her breasts which were still encased by her bra.

He kissed hungrily down her stomach and Jaz felt the ripples build up beneath her skin as his beard abraded her softness, increasing with intensity as he brushed over her lower stomach.

When he got to the waist of her shorts, he glanced back up to meet her eyes briefly, seeing what he needed to see in them, before undoing her button and fly, easing them down over her hips and legs and tossing them out of the way.

From there he lifted one of her legs, pressed a kissed to the sole of her foot, making her squirm as it tickled, before kissing his way up her long, tanned leg. Once again the combination of his soft lips, surrounded by his beard was driving her crazy.

His lips kissed their way up her smooth inner thigh, closer and closer to her centre, and she held her breath watching him through half closed eye lids as she struggled to hold it together.

He glanced back up to once again claim her gaze as he pressed a kiss to her centre, through her still intact underwear.

"Fuck." She whispered as she closed her eyes and reminded herself to keep breathing.

With a small grin on his face, he continued his kissing journey back down the thigh of her other leg, pausing to pay some attention to her inner knee, before ended up back at the sole of her other foot.

"You're teasing me." She managed to rasp out through ragged breaths as she opened her eyes to meet his gaze.

"Yeah." He replied simply, with a small smirk on his face, before moving up on top of her again, hands resting on the waist of her underwear.

"Can I?" He whispered, as he watched Jaz's eyes darken.

"You better." She whispered back.

Needing no further invitation he slid them slowly down her legs, and threw them on the floor, to join her abandoned shorts and tank top.

Sliding both his hands slowly up her legs to bring his mouth up in line with her hips, he bit his lower lip and looked heatedly into her eyes.

She was about to lose her shit. Her entire body was on tenterhooks, just waiting for a release that she only wanted him to provide.

"Adam, please…" She begged and lifted her hips slightly off the couch trying to get closer to his lips.

It was all she needed to say, all he needed to hear. Seeing the desperation in her eyes, he leaned over and pressed soft lips to her centre, this time with no barrier between them and with no intention to stop until she came.

Jaz trembled all over as she felt his lips finally connect to the most sensitive part of her body. She felt his tongue lick her slit, starting at her opening and ending at her clit, and she opened up to him even more as she groaned her approval.

He lapped at her continually, not quite believing he was finally tasting her, and not quite believing how incredible she tasted.

His tongue sort out her clit and as he concentrated all his energy into teasing her nub, she couldn't help but reach down to grasp his hair in her fists, giving her an anchor to hold on to. Feeling encouraged, he moved his tongue in small fast circles against her clit.

"Fuck, Adam." She managed to breath out whilst the trembles in her body started to approach their peak.

Feeling those trembles in the most intimate part of her, Adam slipped a finger inside of her to add another level of ecstasy that had Jaz squeezing her eyes shut and lifting her hips up off of the couch.

Her grip on his hair tightened even more and as he worked his tongue against her and moved his finger inside of her, she cried out with each stroke

Jaz moved her hips in time with the rhythm his fingers set, sliding in and out of her and as he grazed his teeth over her super sensitive nub trying to provide her with as much pleasure as possible, she felt herself slide willingly into the elation that he was providing.

"Adam..." She cried out as she clenched her fists even tighter and fought to hold onto this euphoria for as long as she could. Her body was shaking all over and Adam could feel the tremors both on his tongue and on the finger buried inside of her.

Seeing Jaz lose control like this and finally being with her in one of the most intimate ways, nearly made Adam tremble all over. He continued to move with her as she rode out her orgasm, her fists still clenching tight on to his hair and her hips still gyrating.

Jaz felt like her whole body was on fire. The heat that Adam had generated from deep inside of her, had spread across her entire body and she felt it all the way through to her fingertips. Her hips started to slow down and as she tried to take some deep breaths to calm the aftershocks that still claimed her, she brought Adam's head back up to her own to claim his lips with hers.

Tasting herself on his lips, she pulled him even closer, reminding her that she shared a level of intimacy with him that she had never felt with anyone else.

Dalton pulled back to look at Jaz and smiled softly seeing her with her eyes still closed and still taking deep, ragged breaths.

"You look so beautiful right now," he couldn't help saying. Seeing her uninhibited in her reactions to him and her skin flushed with satisfaction, she looked like a heavenly creature.

Jaz didn't have the words right then to respond to him. She was still coming down from her high, still catching her breath and still just so god damn thankful for these moments with him. Instead she leant up once again to capture his lips.

Their kiss went from gratitude and appreciation to want and need in about three seconds flat.

They spent the rest of the evening making love on the couch, totally engrossed in each other and enjoying every second of the pleasure they gave one another.

* * *

 **Another chapter I was nervous to post! I hope it read ok, I re-read it so many times I drove myself crazy. It was about time they put that big shower to use right?! There's at least one more chapter, or the most part of another chapter of Jalton being happy and alone, before a bit of angst sets in. Let me know what you thought and thank you SO MUCH for reading. I appreciate every single one of you :) XXX**


	20. Chapter 20

**Here's the next chapter and it's Jaz's last full day with Dalton at the cabin. Hope you enjoy it!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 20**

Dalton and Jaz booked their flights to Long Beach, with Jaz adding in her small detour to visit Elijah's family. They would both arrive the same day, Dalton in the morning but Jaz couldn't get there until the evening with the flight schedule.

They let Preach and their team mates know as soon as they were done.

 _ **Flights booked. I land on Friday at 10:30am**_ – Top

 _ **Mine lands at 6pm**_ – Jaz

 _ **10am for me**_ – Amir

 _ **I'm at 11:15am**_ – McG

 _ **Top & Amir, I'll pick you up from the airport. McG, you can Uber**_ – Preach

 _ **Seriously?**_ – McG

 _ **Well, if you promise to not wear your mold mittens in my house, I'll consider waiting for you**_ – Preach

 _ **Ok, fine**_ – McG

 _ **Jaz, I'll come back for you in the evening**_ – Preach

 _ **I can just get a cab or an Uber**_ – Jaz

 _ **No ma'am, your chariot will await**_ – Preach

 _ **Thanks Preach**_ – Jaz

With their flights booked, they only had a couple of days until Jaz would leave for the Vallins'. She had called them to let them know, and they had been thrilled, confirming everyone's thoughts that it would be a great idea for Jaz to go and see them.

Dalton had offered once again to go with her for the visit, but she had decided it was something she really wanted to do by herself. She _needed_ to do it by herself.

Although she wouldn't see him for those two days, Jaz was so happy that she would see Dalton again at Preach's, especially since she still didn't know what her plans were after the long weekend. She was still waiting to hear back from McG about an appointment with Captain Xander Harris. Once that was confirmed she could start to figure out her game plan.

She looked over at Dalton who was typing a text on his phone, probably to Preach or his sisters. She couldn't help but wonder, what would become of them after these next two days?

They still hadn't discussed what had been evolving between them since they had agreed to not label their situation and just take it as it comes. She wasn't sure if she should bring it up with him, or just let it be. The last couple of days had been amazing – more than amazing! But, would it be out of line to ask what he thought? She's not sure.

* * *

After confirming his flight to see Preach and their team, Dalton sent a quick text to his sisters. Since Jaz would be leaving two days earlier than him, he thought it would be a perfect chance to catch up with his sisters, especially since he hadn't seen them at all since Jaz had arrived.

He didn't know how he felt about not seeing Jaz for the two days she would be away, but at least he knew that he would see her again at Preach's, even if all the team would be there too. From there he wasn't sure what was going on. He knew that Jaz would be meeting with Xander, and he was more than happy for her. That also meant she would be in DC. He had given some thought to McG's suggestion of him also speaking to Xander about his own nightmares and the demons that led to them, but still wasn't sure what to do.

Would Jaz want him to also be in DC while she was trying to work through her own demons? He wasn't sure, and he wasn't sure if he should ask. They had placed no labels on what had been happening between them, but he was starting to think that they needed to have a conversation about it before she left.

He would think about it over the day.

* * *

With their flights booked and breakfast eaten, they decided to hike to the waterfall for the day. Jaz loved it there and since she didn't know if she would be going back to the cabin at any stage, she wanted to make sure she saw it at least one more time.

It wasn't the best weather, it was supposed to be drizzling with rain on and off all day, but for these two omega team members, a bit of drizzle was a walk in the park compared to the conditions they were sometimes affronted with.

They packed some lunch, got Patton ready and set off for the long hike ahead of them.

They fell straight into the easy routine they had developed over the last few days, and last few weeks. Truth be told, they had shared an easy rapport for the last three years, there were just a few things that had heightened considerably in the last couple of weeks and especially in the last few days.

They teased each other, competed with each other, hung shit on each other and flirted with each other.

As they approached the waterfall, they decided to head straight to the lookout at the top that Amir and McG had visited last time, before going for a swim at the bottom.

As had been the case at every lookout, Jaz was in absolute awe of the spectacle before her. She just couldn't get over the beauty of these mountains and greatly envied the relative seclusion that Dalton enjoyed whilst residing here.

She got her phone out to snap a couple of pictures and then dragged Dalton over to take some selfies that she would enjoy sending to their group chat later that day. Still not a lover of selfies, Dalton started pulling some funny faces in them, which Jaz joined in on. As they prepared to take another one, he surprised her greatly by leaning over and kissing her cheek. She giggled when she showed him that she had caught it on her phone. To make him feel better, she immediately returned the gesture, also managing to catch that picture too.

Completely throwing her for a loop, Dalton leaned over and kissed her smack on the lips whilst her hand was still in selfie position. Jaz wasn't complaining at all, but she was shocked that he had been bold enough to do so while she was taking photos, and looked at him with surprise in her eyes.

He just shrugged, "Couldn't help it," was his only explanation as he started down the path back towards the lake at the bottom of the waterfall.

As she followed him down, still surprised, but pleasantly so, she checked the pictures on her phone. Sure enough, there were photos of them kissing each other's cheek. But she had somehow also caught their kiss on the lips too.

She glanced up at Dalton walking in front of her and couldn't help but admire his broad shoulders, strong back, and yep – there was that ass again. She looked back down at her phone and knew that she wouldn't be deleting those last three photos. They certainly wouldn't be sent to the group chat, but she had every intention of keeping them for herself.

* * *

By the time they arrived at the bottom, the drizzle had well and truly set in, ensuring that they were the only crazy people out there today.

They set their gear up underneath an overhanging rock and sat down on their towels next to each other to eat some lunch.

Jaz thought about asking Dalton right then about… so many things. About all the things that had been running through her head. About all the things that were starting to drive her crazy. About all the things that had never mattered to her before, with anyone else.

But she wasn't sure if she wanted to tempt fate just then. They had another day and a half together, she would hold off a little longer.

Dalton knew Jaz had a lot going on in her head just then. He knew her well enough by now to get a read on her, and he also had a ton going through his own head. Now wasn't the time though… although he wasn't quite sure when the right time would be.

He looked over at her, and when she returned his gaze with a multitude of thoughts visible in her eyes, he had to lean over and kiss her.

He held his lips to hers for a few seconds, hoping to ease some of those thoughts and when she pulled back with a giggle, he just shrugged and said, "Couldn't help it."

She just smirked at him and asked, "Again?"

"Yeah, so what?" He teased.

She grabbed his wrists in both her hands and had him pinned down on his back in two seconds flat. Her hands held his arms against the ground on either side of his head, while she sat astride him, using her body weight to hold him in place.

Looking up at her satisfied smirk, he knew he could reverse their positions just as quickly, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't like looking up at her like this. Her long hair was falling about her face, framing her beautiful features and damn if he wasn't feeling some serious pangs deep in his chest right that moment.

He just looked back as she giggled, still proud of the position she had put them in.

"Let's go for a swim." He suggested.

"In the rain?" Jaz quirked an eyebrow.

"It's the best time to swim. The water is warm, and we're gonna get wet anyway, right?"

She smiled a very private smile as she remembered one small detail about this hike and the waterfall. She moved herself off him and stood up.

"Sure thing, Top." She said in her low, raspy voice as she began to peel off her clothes.

Dalton just stared back. Mouth hanging open, eyes starting to glaze over with every part of his body going rigid, and… stiff.

The bikini. Jaz had on _that_ bikini.

"Fuck." He breathed out.

Jaz tossed her hair over her shoulder and called out, "See you in there," as she walked towards the lake, knowing exactly how this bikini affected him.

Not one to be left behind, Dalton quickly stood and made swift work of removing his t-shirt. He ran towards Jaz, picked her up fireman style over his shoulder and strode out into the lake.

Jaz shrieked and couldn't help but laugh out loud. It would be big belly whooping laughter if she wasn't currently bent in half over his shoulder, but she did take the time to play paddy-whack on his back as he held on tight to her legs.

As soon as he had strode out to a decent depth, he unceremoniously dumped her in the water, and when she came up spluttering, he just grinned.

"That's what you get for teasing."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jaz managed to spit out between the water still in her mouth and the smile creeping onto her face, still feigning innocence.

Dalton was standing right in front of her with his eyebrows raised, "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Jaz let out a laugh, a beautiful, loud, uninhibited laugh and before he knew it, she had leapt up out of the water, hands on his shoulders and was attempting to dunk him under.

She should have remembered from the last time she attempted this that it wasn't going to work. Instead she ended up back in the water with him and when they both came up spluttering, big smiles plastered across both of their faces, she lunged forward and kissed him, both her hands making their way around his neck to hold on tight.

Dalton held on to her tightly around her waist, lifting her off her feet and she kissed him until she needed to pull back for air.

He looked into her eyes, slightly surprised by her spontaneity.

She just gazed back into those ocean blue eyes that sparkled and shrugged, "Couldn't help it."

A slow smile spread across his face as he lifted her legs to wrap them around his waist.

"Is that right?" He asked huskily, his eyes starting to bore into hers.

"Uh huh." She murmured, with her arms still wrapped around his neck and her eyes staring right back into his.

He kissed her. Over and over and over again. Each time with more force, more passion and more urgency.

With one hand on her ass, holding her in place, he slipped his other hand inside her bikini top and massaged her breast, letting his thumb make circles around her nipple, which was already hard and craving more and more attention.

She ground her hips into him as he started walking them through the water, to the place that always seemed to get the better of them, between the waterfall and the rock interface.

Not once did their lips leave each other's and the groans of their quickly increasing lust were drowned out by the water itself.

He backed her right up against the rock face, careful not to cause her injury, but struggling to hold back. His hand was still caught in her bikini, providing shivers throughout her entire body.

He himself was rock hard, and knew he needed some sort of release, and fast.

"Adam, I need…" Jaz started, before slamming her lips back on his.

"I need you to…" She started again, before the pull of his lips was just too much again.

"What do you need, Jaz?" He asked between the collisions of their lips.

"What do you need me to do?" He tried again.

"Fuck me." She managed to rasp out.

Dalton added that to the list of sexiest things she had ever said.

He slipped a hand between them to move her bikini bottoms to the side and held her gaze as he plunged into her in one swift movement.

She gasped out loud at the immediate pleasure, competing in volume with the waterfall behind them, before clenching her legs even tighter around him, urging him on.

Not able to hold back, he slammed into her hard and fast. It was what they both needed and neither of them held back, knowing they wouldn't last long this time around.

He had her ass gripped tightly in his hands, guiding her hips in time with his urgent thrusts, both of then crying out with each stroke.

The roar of the water behind them barely drowned out the roar in their ears as they both approached their pinnacle.

Jaz had her eyes squeezed tightly shut feeling every thrust deep inside of her, aching and desperate to reach her release.

When she eventually opened her eyes and placed a hand on his cheek, the other still wrapped around his neck, she felt herself start to give in to the bliss. She wanted to look right into his eyes as her orgasm took over.

Dalton was right there with her. Squeezing her even closer to him and slamming into her as hard as he could, he looked right back into her dilated brown eyes as he gave into his own orgasm and felt himself erupt inside of her.

"Fuck, Jaz."

"Adam."

They both cried out as they held on tight and rode out the tidal wave they had produced. Eyes never leaving each other's, their breaths loud and ragged and their cries raucous and full of satisfaction.

Resting their foreheads together as they tried to get their breathing under control, their chests still heaving, Dalton flicked his thumb over her nipple one last time, ensuring she rippled even further with pleasure.

"You wore this bikini on purpose." He managed to murmur accusingly, but appraisingly.

After a few seconds, still catching her breath, Jaz leaned close and murmured against his lips, "Couldn't help it."

As her lips met his in a slower appreciation of what had just happened between them, he chuckled against them, before fully embracing her lips with his and held her tight.

They both enjoyed just holding on to each other and holding onto whatever this 'non-labelled, but questionable' situation was that had developed between the two of them.

* * *

Walking back to the cabin after another hour or two at the waterfall, Jaz's mind wandered. With just over one day left together, they still hadn't talked about where this went from here.

They were going to be back with their team in a few days – their whole team.

Is that where they go back to pretending one of them is sleeping on the floor and trying to keep their hands off of each other in front of the others? Where they pretend to the others that the last few days, last few weeks hadn't happened? That they hadn't been exploring each other's bodies intimately or that she hadn't been feeling things that she had never felt before?

Or do they end this? Do they delude themselves into thinking that these memories will pass and not stick in their minds forever? Do they call time and be thankful for the time they had, but realise that eventually Turkey and their job will beckon, and this was just a fun little interlude on their leave?

Is that what this was? A fun little interlude?

Jaz was driving herself crazy with all these questions swirling in her head. She'd never been an over thinker, but she was struggling to shake all these thoughts from her mind.

"Hey – Jaz…" She heard break through her thoughts.

"Hmmm?" She turned to Dalton, wondering how long he had been trying to get her attention.

He looked at her curiously, "You ok?"

"Yeah," She answered quickly, "Yeah, I'm fine."

He could tell just by the look on her face that she had been lost in thought, and he was pretty sure he knew what situation she was thinking about. He stopped walking and turned to face her.

"Hey – look, I know we need to have a conversation, about a lot of things," He started simply, "But let's enjoy the rest of today, and we'll talk tomorrow…?" He suggested.

She just looked down, her thoughts still clearing and her mind still in overdrive.

He lifted a hand to bring her chin up so that her eyes met his and searched for agreeance, "Yeah?"

Jaz looked into his eyes and could see there were thoughts in his mind too. But she did like the idea of enjoying the rest of this day and tackling the harder stuff tomorrow.

"Yeah ok, sounds good," she agreed, nodding and smiled softly at him.

"Good." Dalton was relieved with her agreeance. He had a lot going on in his head too, but wanted and needed this bit of time with her; to just pretend that there wasn't some big conversations to be had, just for a little while longer.

They fell back into their easy gait, and continued their way back to the cabin. Patton stayed right by their side as if sensing that this could be their last hike together, at least for a while.

* * *

Jaz and Dalton settled themselves on the couch when they got back to have a rest before tackling dinner, with Patton snagging a spot between the two of them.

Jaz couldn't help but laugh as she scratched his head and his ears, "He really has settled into life in the mountains, hasn't he?"

"Could say the same about you…" Dalton ventured slowly.

Jaz shrugged her shoulders, "Meh, it's ok here."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone your secret." He teased.

Jaz rolled her eyes, "Fine, it's been a lot better than I thought it would be."

"Is that right?" Dalton asked slowly and suggestively with his eyebrows raised.

Jaz threw a cushion from the couch at him and said dryly, "Not like that"

He held his hands up in the air, "Like what?"

"You're as bad as McG." She accused.

Dalton scoffed, but then gave her one of those smiles that warmed her up from the inside out. Perfect teeth showing, eyes sparkling and the crinkles around those eyes, deep and from a place of happiness.

She couldn't give him anything in reply other than a smile of her own. Skin glowing, eyes bright and wide.

She got up off the couch slowly and started to walk towards the bathroom.

"I'm going to take a shower before dinner." She said to him suggestively, over her shoulder.

Dalton didn't need any further hints. He was up off that couch quick smart and disappeared into the bathroom with Jaz.

* * *

Jaz got a text from McG later that evening letting her know that he had got her an appointment with Captain Xander Harris for the following week. He also let her know that he would be accompanying her to DC after being at Preach's for the weekend.

Jaz was very appreciate of McG's efforts in securing this for her, but she couldn't help but have mixed feelings.

On one hand, she knew she desperately needed the help from Xander. She had eventually felt comfortable talking to him in Incirlik and she would much rather talk to him about her situation and her nightmares than have to start again with a stranger. She needed to get on top on these nightmares, before she let them consume her.

On the other hand, when she was in DC, she wasn't going to be with Dalton. And that was the crux of it.

* * *

Dalton cooked dinner outside for them that night and they sat looking at the stars afterwards, eating s'mores, drinking beer and just enjoying the moment.

Side by side they sat around the fire, not engaging in conversation very much, but exchanging a lot of glances and just enjoying the comfort that the company of the other provided.

When the fire eventually died out, it was Jaz who rose from her seat first and turned to hold her hand out for Dalton.

Looking up at the softness and the invitation on her face, he took her hand and she led him inside. Once there, she silently and deliberately removed both her own clothing and his, one article at a time until they were both completely naked.

Leading him towards the couch she lowered them down so they were laying facing each other and kissed him softly at first, slowly and indulgently.

Dalton returned the kisses, tilting his head to deepen them and getting lost in the euphoria that Jaz's tongue in his mouth ignited.

Their hands gripped the other tightly, letting them roam over their bodies, and cradle each other's head as their kissing deepened even further. Their bodies were pressed tightly together, and they rocked with each other as their lips barely came up for air.

Dalton lifted one of Jaz's legs to wrap around his hip, and with this angle he let his fingers wander down towards her center and stroked her softly. Her moan as he did so had her opening her eyes, looking directly into his own, but their lips still never left each other's.

With his hands still stroking her, spreading her wetness all over her slit, he felt her hand wander down his chest, over his abs and lower even further to grip him delicately and reverently in her hand. She stroked him with long, slow strokes, enjoying the feel of the soft outer skin sliding against the enclosed hardness.

They undulated together as the pleasure they were giving each other rose in a steady and heated manner and their hips moved in rhythm with their hands.

Their need grew. It had done nothing but grow the last few weeks and Jaz pulled away to change their positions so that Dalton was sitting on the couch and Jaz was kneeling above him, her knees on either side of his legs.

He held on to her waist as she leaned down to re-join their lips together and he slid his hands up her rib cage to cup her breasts in his palms, never getting enough of her and her beauty.

After rubbing themselves against each other while they continued to kiss, their need for each other was almost sky high. Pulling back to look into Adam's eyes, her hands resting on his shoulders, she moved so that he was in line with her entrance and slid down slowly, savouring every moment that the feeling of him inside of her aroused and exclaiming as such with a loud moan.

Taking their time, they rocked against each other, slowly and deliberately. Jaz slid herself up and down, working her hips so that only the very tip of his cock was still inside of her, before sliding all the way down so Adam would bottom out inside of her.

"You're so beautiful, Jaz." Adam whispered roughly to her, marvelling at the beautiful creature in front of him. On top of him. Riding him.

He buried his hands in her long flowing hair and brought her head down to his to kiss her perfect mouth, wanting to feel as much of her as possible, as if committing her and her body to memory.

"So are you." She whispered back to him in between kisses. In between moans.

No one had ever called him beautiful before, but in that moment, it felt like the most intimate thing he had ever heard.

He pulled his lips back from hers for a second, just to look into her eyes. Their gazes held, both with emotions treading the fine line between unreadable and completely obvious. Whatever they were, they both started to move with more urgency.

Jaz rose and fell over and over, sliding herself up and down so Adam was as deep inside her as possible. She could feel the flutters inside of her begin to expand with the combined feel of his rock hard cock, his extremely capable hands all over her body and his hot mouth, devouring her lips, her neck and her breasts.

Adam thrust his hips up so he could slid into her as deep as possible. Her heat and her tightness enclosed around him ensured that the quivers he felt deep down, were starting to come to the forefront. He couldn't keep his lips away from her body, she just tasted so good, everywhere.

They rocked together, every part of them pressed together. Every goose bump, every nerve ending, every touch, all working in synchronicity to transport them to a place of exhilaration.

Their cries were loud and almost violent as they urgently, desperately called out each other's names.

Adam knew he was about to come and not wanting to do so without Jaz, he reached a thumb down to circle her clit.

The immediate pleasure that Jaz felt made her throw her head back in ecstasy and she rode him harder, both their hips moving frantically as they both reached that place of euphoria, riding wave after wave of bliss and gratification.

They wrapped their arms around each other and held each other close as their bodies continued to surge and pulsate with the aftershocks of their union. Jaz buried her head in Adam's neck and he rested his nose in her hair, her apple scent stirring something deep inside of him.

They were still wrapped tightly together when eventually the ripples their bodies had emitted, filtered out and their hips stilled against each other. Only their chests were left heaving against each other's, but getting their breath back didn't feel as important as holding on to one another.

They were struggling to let go of each other, way too content being enveloped around each other, but they managed to pull their heads back to press their lips against each other in a long, lingering and intimate kiss.

When their eyes finally met, there were those looks again. The emotion in their eyes that was unreadable; or they were telling themselves it was unreadable.

That had felt different to their previous intimate encounters. More visceral. More instinctive. More tender. More intimate.

But why had it also feel like a goodbye?

* * *

 **Well needless to say, the next chapter gets a bit angsty. Thanks so much for reading! What did you think? XXX**


	21. Chapter 21

**Here's the next chapter for you all, I hope you enjoy it.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of its characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 21**

Dalton and Jaz awoke wrapped up together, Jaz's back pressed closely against Dalton's chest with his head buried in her long, apple scented hair.

They also awoke knowing this was their last day together, alone at the cabin.

Jaz lay there and soaked up the feeling of being wrapped in Dalton's strong arms. She tried to commit the feel and the warmth it gave her to memory, not knowing where they were going from here.

Dalton was doing a similar thing. He was marvelling at how the tough and strong Jaz that she always outwardly portrayed, was actually so soft, so warm and so pliable when they were wrapped up together. And that apple scent? He drowned himself in the scent right then, getting as much of it as he could.

They both lay there wondering the same thing.

 _What now?_

Neither of them had any idea what the other was thinking about their last few weeks together, about their last few days together, and what they were going to do from here on out. And neither of them knew how to initiate the conversation that they so desperately needed to have.

Although, Jaz started to think that maybe they didn't need to have this conversation. Maybe she could just leave for the Vallins', and that would be that. They would go back to being just team mates, who happened to work extremely well together and who happened to confide in each other.

Who was she kidding? Of course they needed to talk.

As always, Dalton could sense the conflict going on with Jaz. It was so tempting to put his hands all over her and lose himself in her right now, especially if it may be the last time. But that had been what last night had been about… at least he thinks that's what it was about.

It had been amazing in any case. Breathtaking actually.

Some sort of sanity kicked in and instead he pulled her close to breathe her in before releasing her and rolling on to his back.

Clearing his throat he attempted to ask lightly, "What do you want for breakfast? Your choice."

Jaz also rolled onto her back and cleared her own throat, "Well if you're cooking it, it'll have to be bacon and eggs. It's the only thing you don't burn."

"Ouch, speaking of burn…" Dalton chuckled.

She just rolled her head in his direction to smile at him and found herself getting lost in that grin of his. She had to get up and out of this bed if she wanted to stay sane.

"Ok, I'll go and let Patton out." She rushed as she jumped out of bed and left the bedroom.

"Ok…" Dalton was left saying to himself as he got himself up and headed into the kitchen to start breakfast.

* * *

After breakfast, Jaz went off on a quick run, mostly to be able to do some thinking without Dalton being around to cloud her thoughts. Being in close proximity to him made it difficult to think objectively, and that's exactly what she needed to do right now.

Having said that, she really enjoyed being close to him.

 _Really enjoyed it._

And that was the problem.

She'd never felt like this before, and never felt like this about anyone before.

She wasn't even sure what _this_ was.

But at the root of all of this, was still the fact that Dalton was her CO. And she didn't want to be on any other team. She had waited her whole life to meet people like Special Operations Group 7, to meet people she could call her family.

She had already lost Elijah. She didn't want to lose the rest of them too.

* * *

While Jaz went out for her run, Dalton took care of a few chores around the cabin.

He knew exactly why she had gone running, and he couldn't blame her for wanting a bit of space. Truth be told he needed the space too, just to think.

He found it difficult to think clearly when Jaz was close by.

He found it difficult to breathe when she was close by.

Being members of this unit, they were already close to begin with, but over the last few weeks and days, they had become closer than ever and he didn't remember ever feeling this way before.

He just couldn't put his finger on what _this_ was.

The complication was that he was still her CO, and that predicament wouldn't be changing anytime soon. Their team was solid. They had a level of trust amongst each other that made them some of the very best. Dalton had never experienced that level of trust in his life, and wasn't sure if he should or could tempt that.

* * *

A couple of hours later, they found themselves fishing off the jetty. Dalton had suggested it over breakfast and since it was just another thing she had learned to love since being in these mountains, she was keen for another session. Probably the last session.

They both sat there at the end of the jetty, fishing rods in hand, Patton lying flat out behind them and just staring out over the water wondering how to start this conversation.

Dalton sat there a bit longer, before he decided to make the first move. He usually did, it was usually part of his responsibility as the team leader and their captain. This was different though. He wasn't nearly as confident with what direction this conversation may take.

He looked over at Jaz, at her glowing tanned skin and her long hair pulled on top of her head in a top knot. Even though her shoulders were slightly tensed, and he knew why, she was still so beautiful, so ethereal and so strong.

Jaz could feel Dalton's gaze on her and after a few seconds she turned to meet his eyes, but struggled to read what she saw in them. His usual crystal clear irises looked cloudy and uncertain. She wished she knew how to approach this herself because she wasn't used to seeing him like this.

Dalton took a deep breath and knew this had to start somehow.

"Jaz… I, um, we need to talk about – we need to talk about what happens now." He managed to stutter out, not proud of how he had delivered that line.

Jaz admired him for being able to spit that out at all, she knew she was struggling with what to say.

She cleared her throat before managing to say herself, "Yeah, we do."

They stopped and smiled softly at each other, knowing how hard even those few words had been to annunciate.

"This was easier with no labels, huh?" Jaz smiled softly.

"Yeah." Dalton couldn't help but agree, and right then the conflict within him rose again as he looked away.

He knew how well he and Jaz worked together on the team. They were their own team within a team, rarely having to have a conversation to communicate, sometimes just needing to lock their gazes to know what the other was thinking. And he knew it was because of that bond, that _this_ part of them had worked so well too. They had fallen into it so naturally and seamlessly, and he had never experienced anything like it.

This was one of the only times he couldn't get a read on Jaz and what she was thinking. That was what was making this so difficult.

Jaz could see the turmoil in his eyes and felt exactly the same way. It was rare to see him stuck for words, but if he was feeling anything like she was, then she needed to try and make it easier for him, as he had done for her, so many times before.

"Maybe… maybe we should go back to the way we were." Jaz managed to say, through a mouth that felt like it was full of sand. She felt a physical pain in her chest just saying those words and she knew she couldn't look at him right then for fear of him reading what was truly in her eyes.

Dalton held his breath, and looked up at her slowly, trying to see into her eyes, but she was looking down at her lap, and fiddling with the fishing rod.

"Yeah… we probably should." He found himself agreeing quietly and slowly, although not actually sure if he meant it.

 _It's not what I want –_ Is what Jaz wanted to say, but couldn't say those words. She had no right to say those words, no right to think she had any claim on him. Instead she just sat, staring down at her hands, fiddling with the string on the fishing rod and just nodded her head slowly.

She knew that if this had garnered any chance of moving forward, that it would have had to come from Dalton himself. He was the group leader. He was the CO.

But he agreed with her. And that was that.

Trying to fill in the silence between them, Jaz started to babble, "We would have had to be careful at Preach's anyway, he's super perceptive."

"That he is." Dalton agreed quietly.

"And then I'm going to DC with McG to meet with Captain Harris after that anyway, so …." Jaz just trailed off after that.

"I'm glad McG is going with you." Dalton offered her genuinely.

He was so glad to hear that she wouldn't be alone, at least at first, when she was finally starting to work through some of her issues. It reminded him of McG's suggestion that he should also talk to someone, he just hadn't given it any more thought yet. He should probably get around to that.

"Yeah, me too." Jaz still couldn't lift her face to meet his gaze, which seemed ridiculous after all that they had shared these last few weeks, but she knew if he looked into her eyes, then he would be able to see the deceit, the lies.

That she didn't want this to end at all.

Dalton looked out over the lake, not knowing what to say next. He knew Jaz couldn't look at him right at the moment, and it was for the best. If she saw in his eyes what he was actually feeling, their jobs would be at stake, and the reality was that they would be back in Incirlik eventually, back on base at the Quonset hut and back to doing what they do best.

He didn't want this to end, but it _had_ to.

If they wanted to be on the same team, it _had_ to.

He just wished the pangs he was feeling deep in his chest would get on board with what he knew was the right thing to do.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, he put his fishing rod on the jetty and stood up. Leaning over, he took Jaz's fishing rod from her hands, also placed it on the jetty, and took her hands in his and pulled her up to face him.

He kept her hands in his and just touching her had him wanting to pull her close. But he resisted. Instead he placed a hand under her chin and lifted her gaze to meet his.

"Jaz, I don't have any regrets about the last few weeks." He said to her truthfully.

She looked back at him and knew he was telling the truth. He wouldn't lie to her.

"Me neither." She also admitted, trying to smile, but not quite managing to do so, instead she continued, "Thank you. For everything. For letting me stay here and for helping me sleep."

"Like I've already said, you don't have to thank me. I'm glad you came here and I would do it all over again. All of it." He told her earnestly, hoping like hell she believed him.

Truthfully, he _would_ do it all over again. He didn't want to stop.

Staring into his eyes, she knew without a doubt he was telling the truth. Dalton didn't lie; he sometimes told some hard truths, but he didn't lie.

At least not to his team.

Nodding to him in agreement she managed to whisper back, "Me too."

Her voice was thick with the emotion she was trying desperately to keep in check and not get the better of her. Her eyes stung with the tears she was trying fiercely not to shed.

Dalton also felt tense with emotion. Emotion that he had never felt before, and looking at Jaz and seeing the redness of her eyes, he couldn't help but place his hand tenderly on her face.

"Jaz." He whispered, his eyes searching hers for permission for what he was about to do.

He knew she was trying to remain stoic, but he still saw in the depths of her eyes what he needed to.

He let go of her hand, and placed both his hands on her cheeks, cradling her face and running his thumbs over her soft cheeks.

He very slowly lowered his head to hers and softly, very softly, captured her lips with his own in a kiss that had both their chests almost caving in with emotion.

Jaz couldn't help but grasp on to his waist with her hands and hold on tight, fully aware that if she let go suddenly she may fall down.

They held their lips together for a long, lingering moment, knowing that this was the last time this would ever happen, and they were both having trouble pulling back. Neither of them wanting to let go of the comfort they had found in each other these last few weeks.

Eventually breaking away from each other, they pulled back just slightly to rest their foreheads together, as they had done so many times previously and just breathed each other in, trying to commit the feel and scent of each other to memory.

Struggling with the effort of keeping her emotions close to her chest, Jaz could feel herself trembling on the inside. The effort was becoming too much so putting her own hands on Dalton's wrists, that still rested on her cheeks, she lowered his hands and took a step back from him.

"I better go and start packing." She said, her voice still thick with feeling. With one more glance up into his own red-rimmed eyes, she strode back towards the cabin, leaving him standing there staring after her.

As his hands fell to his side, and he watched her walk away, he couldn't help but wonder if he had just made the biggest mistake of his life.

* * *

As Jaz fled back to the cabin, she finally let the tears she had been holding back stream down her face.

She could count on one hand the amount of times she remembered crying, at least since she stopped giving her father the satisfaction of seeing her cry. And she knew for a fact that she had never cried over a guy, other than Elijah that was, but that was a completely different circumstance.

She knew that Dalton wasn't just some guy, it wasn't just some silly crush. But she didn't know what it was, and she's not sure it warranted tears. She wasn't that girl.

She wiped the tears from her face quickly as she got to the bedroom, Dalton's bedroom. Her belongings were all in there now since she had moved them in once Amir had started sleeping in the spare room.

Looking around this room that had brought her so much comfort and so much pleasure, she knew she had never felt more at home anywhere else. She loved the Quonset hut and their lives there, but it was here that she had started to let some of her walls down, and it was Dalton who had been responsible for that.

She started to throw things in her bag, after being here for a few weeks, she had her gear all over the place so she knew she needed to get started now before her flight later that night.

She wasn't looking forward to leaving and she's not quite sure how to say goodbye to Adam.

* * *

After Jaz had left the jetty and headed back to the cabin, Dalton sat back down for a little bit, just to gather himself.

He hadn't failed to notice the redness in her eyes. It had matched the redness he knew that his own eyes were reflecting.

He knew that Jaz tended to keep her emotions very close to her chest and he did too. It's part of what made them both great at their job, but some would see it as a downfall in relationships. In fact, some _had_ seen it as a downfall in a relationship.

He didn't want to go back to the cabin right now and watch her pack up her things. He had just become so used to her being there. For that very reason he made a quick decision to go into town for a little bit to give her some space and so he didn't have to watch her pack. There was still half a day to go until her flight. As much as he didn't want to be away from her, a couple of hours of breathing space might settle the emotions.

* * *

Jaz was sitting spread out on the bedroom floor, trying to get all her clothes together to fit back into her bags.

"Jaz..?" Dalton knocked lightly on the already open bedroom door.

She looked up at him from her position on the floor, trying to look nonchalant and not like she was still battling her emotions.

"I'm, umm… I'm going to head into town. I need a couple of things at the hardware store. Do you need anything?" Dalton continued, trying hard to make his voice sound light.

"No thanks, I'm good." Jaz gestured towards all of her stuff before continuing, "I've somehow accumulated a lot more than what I arrived with."

"Well I have spare bags if you need them." He offered.

"Thanks, I'll see how I go."

Their attempt at idle chit chat was of course just a front for what they were actually feeling.

Dalton nodded and they held each other's gaze momentarily, before Jaz ducked her head back down to her clothes. She couldn't drown in those blue eyes right now. They were one of her weaknesses.

Dalton couldn't help but feel another one of those pains in his chest. Her big beautiful eyes were so unreadable, and he wasn't used to that.

Clearing his throat he said, "Ok, I'll only be a couple of hours max. Text me if you remember anything you need."

She managed to lift her head to look at him again and nodded her thanks.

He gave her a small smile as he backed out of the doorway and walked out to his truck. Once Patton had jumped in next to him, he took a deep breath as he started the engine and with a quick glance back to the cabin, he drove off.

Jaz had watched him leave the bedroom and walk out the front door, and only then did she feel like she got her breath back. This day was so strange. This morning they had woken together, warm and wrapped in each other's arms, and now she was covered in goose bumps and could already feel the distance between them.

What would it be like by the time he dropped her off at the airport tonight? She didn't want to find out.

Making a quick decision, she grabbed her phone to research something and then made a quick call. Having done that, she continued packing and tried to commit everything about this cabin to memory.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Dalton and Patton pulled up outside the cabin. He had bought a few things at the hardware store that he didn't necessarily need, but probably would in the future.

He'd also got Jaz one of the brownies from the diner where they had dessert from on their date. She had loved it and he knew how much she loved chocolate. He'd thought it might be a peace offering of sorts. Although he suddenly thought it might be a bad idea to remind her of their date, especially since it was after eating that very brownie that they had slept together for the first time.

Fuck.

Why didn't he think of that earlier?

He left the brownie in the truck. He thought he would scope out their vibe before bringing it inside.

When he went to open the front door, he found it locked. That was strange, they only locked the door at night and when they went out.

He just shrugged, maybe he had locked it accidentally behind him on the way out earlier. But he frowned. He didn't make those types of accidents.

Unlocking the door, he stepped inside and looked around. He could see that Jaz's books and a few other bits of paraphernalia had disappeared from the living room. She must have finished packing.

"Jaz?" He called out, walking towards the bedroom.

It was empty when he got there, and all her belongings were gone.

He frowned, but thought she might have gone for a walk to the jetty.

As he walked back through the cabin to head towards the lake to look for her, he caught sight of a piece of paper sitting on the dining table.

His heart dropped as he walked towards it and picked it up. He already knew what it was.

 _ **Top,**_

 _ **I managed to get an earlier flight and thought it would be nice to spend a couple of extra hours with the Vallins'. I'm getting a taxi to the airport, but don't worry, I'll let you know when I arrive.**_

 _ **See you in a couple of days,**_

 _ **Jaz.**_

Damn it! This wasn't how he had wanted things to end, or how he wanted her to leave.

He sat and stared at the piece of paper, running his hand through his beard, and couldn't decide if he was angry, hurt or sad.

He didn't know, but he knew he was disappointed. Not disappointed in Jaz, but disappointed that he hadn't been able to say goodbye. He knew they were seeing each other again in a couple of days, but they wouldn't be alone and they wouldn't be able to acknowledge what had happened between them here.

What exactly had happened between them here?

He wished he could answer that question.

All he knew was that Jaz being gone, this note and her addressing him as 'Top' again, made those pains in his chest dig a little deeper.

Fuck.

* * *

 **Ok, I'm ducking for cover! Sorry... don't hate me :( But regardless, thank you for reading and I hope you'll leave a comment telling me what you thought. This ain't over yet though! Much love to you all XXX**


	22. Chapter 22

**Thank you to everyone who read my last chapter, and especially to those who left reviews. Sorry for the hurt it caused :(**

 **This chapter has a couple of little throwbacks, see if you can pick them. Hope you enjoy!**

 **I do not own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 22**

Jaz lay in bed the next morning in the small bungalow out the back of the Vallins' property. It had belonged to Elijah and was where he and Jaz had stayed on previous visits.

Elijah's parents had welcomed Jaz with open arms last night and they had cried and laughed and everything in between. It was always easy to see where Elijah had inherited his easy and loving nature from, his parents and extended family were all exactly the same, and for some reason, they had all accepted and welcomed Jaz as part of their family.

Jaz hadn't slept a wink. She had laid there staring into the night, gripped by insomnia for a variety of reasons.

Firstly, she had been overwhelmed with the memories of Elijah, of their friendship and of their previous visits to this family home. She missed him so much and while she had many happy memories to treasure, the heartache of him dying in her arms is something she would never forget, and could never un-see in her head. The images imprinted in her mind are still vivid; the same images that often haunted her nightmares, and his devastating loss was very much something she was still learning to live with.

Secondly, she had been worried about the nightmares. She hadn't endured one since she had been sharing a room and bed with Adam – with _Dalton,_ and she didn't know if she was strong enough to cope with them here, where her emotions were already heightened.

Lastly, there was Dalton himself. She felt guilty that she had left the cabin while he had been out, but she had done it for self-preservation, because she wasn't wired to be able to cope with this amount of emotion. Her upbringing had her closed off from an early age, and letting Dalton in, was proving to be a huge learning curve.

She had sent a very short, "Arrived safe and sound" text when she had landed, as he always expected, and she hadn't wanted him to worry. But when he had tried to call her soon after, she had let it ring out. She knew she would be seeing him in two days, but she needed those two days to get her walls back up and in place, and the big gaping hole of emptiness in her stomach to refill.

* * *

Dalton lay in his own bed that same morning, having also endured a night of insomnia.

He was worried about Jaz.

He knew that leaving without saying goodbye had been for her own self-preservation, and he was glad she had still text him to let him know of her safe arrival, but that didn't stop his worry. Not only was she dealing with whatever was between the two of them, but she would also be battling a whirlwind of emotions that being back with Elijah's family and in his family home would cultivate.

He was also worried about her nightmares… and his own. They had managed to keep them at bay with each other's company throughout the night. He could handle his own; he'd been dealing with them for a really long time. But he didn't want Jaz to have to endure hers.

He wanted to call her. But she hadn't answered his call last night, or replied to his voicemail, and he wondered if it was just better to give her some space at the moment.

He couldn't get his mind off her though, and laying in this bed that smelled of her apple scented shampoo and reminded him of everything they had shared was not helping. He got himself up and decided to go for a run, before heading over to his sister's house later that day. He needed to escape this bedroom and try and get Jaz off his mind.

* * *

Elijah's family loved having Jaz visit them. Although it was a sad time for them all, it did provide some small comfort by being together and keeping Elijah's memories alive with each other. They spent the day reminiscing and trading stories. Jaz told his parents stories from their time on base, at least the ones she was allowed to tell them. In turn, they regaled her with tales from his childhood.

It was difficult for Jaz to be here without Elijah. He had been the extrovert to her introvert and she was struggling a bit with the emotion of being there. He had always taken care of her; at least as much as Jaz would let someone take care of her. But this time she didn't have anyone to do that, or to guide her, or to tease her out of her shell.

This time she was all alone.

While they were all lovely and she genuinely liked being around them and their warmth and acceptance… her buffer was gone, and it felt like she was losing him all over again.

To add to it all, she couldn't stop thinking about Adam, and that gaping hole she could feel in her stomach, was starting to hurt.

She had listened to the voicemail he had left on her phone last night multiple times. Despite what had happened, his voice was still a comfort to her and hearing it, while she was here with Elijah's family made her feel so many things. Comfort, yes, but other things that she just couldn't put her finger on. She hadn't called him back or text him though, and he hadn't made any further attempts at communication.

She wondered what he was doing and whether he was thinking about her at all. Her hands itched to send him a text, but her head kept overriding them. They were supposed to be going back to what they were before the last three weeks had happened; to the Jaz and Dalton they were prior to that, and that Jaz wasn't clingy. And she certainly wasn't pining for him.

Definitely not.

She definitely wasn't remembering what it was like to wake up wrapped in his arms, or how soft, but firm his lips were. She definitely wasn't thinking about how his hands had felt on her as they explored every part of her body, or the way she reacted to him. And she definitely wasn't recalling the small moments like drinking coffee together in the morning, fishing on the jetty, watching the stars, being curled up together on the couch or playing with Patton together.

Ok fine. She was definitely pining for him. So much it hurt.

But she would be fine; she would get over this. It had only been a day.

* * *

After heading out for a morning hike with Patton, Dalton set off to meet his sisters for lunch.

All of his nieces and nephews were off at summer camp, but he would see them later on in the summer.

He wouldn't say he was super close to his sisters, but they all got along fine. Their childhood had been far from ideal, and that has left its scars, but he made the effort when he was stateside to re-connect with them when he could.

As usual, they asked him a bunch of questions that he just couldn't and wouldn't answer. They wanted to know details about his job mostly, but being Special Forces, it was all confidential. It was for the best anyway, he wouldn't want them to know what he had done, what he had seen or what he was capable of. It's a part of his life that he compartmentalises when he's home and that he wanted to protect them from.

Getting the message loud and clear they instead asked him about the people he works with. They remembered most of their names from the last time they caught up so Dalton gave them a brief update on them all.

He subconsciously left Jaz until the end, and as he looked down at his plate to give them a brief update, his sisters exchanged a glance with each other. They had wondered about Jaz on previous occasions, but this time his voice had become noticeably softer with a hint of wistfulness as he spoke about her, albeit professionally, and they knew what they had always suspected.

They knew better than to prod Adam on this topic though, for now at least.

Instead, they enjoyed their time with their brother, just hoping that maybe they might get to meet Jaz one day.

That same evening, Dalton checked his phone for the zillionth time, but there was still no message or call from Jaz. He wasn't surprised but having no contact with her gave him a strange sensation of emptiness throughout him. He knew realistically that he could just call her again, but he already knew he would get voicemail again.

He just couldn't stop thinking about her.

He wondered what she was doing and if she was ok. Going to see the Vallins' was always going to be difficult and bittersweet and he wished he could be there for her, but if they were trying to go back to what they were three weeks ago, then he had to try and keep some distance. He certainly wasn't pining for her.

Definitely not.

He definitely wasn't remembering what it was like to wrap his arms around her and hold her close, or how he loved to bury his nose in her apple scented hair. He definitely wasn't remembering what her lips had tasted like or how her hands on him made him feel like he was on fire. And he definitely wasn't remembering teaching her how to fish, taking her hiking or what she looked like in that bikini.

Shit. He was definitely pining for her. More than he ever thought he would.

But he had this. He would compartmentalise these feelings. It had only been a day after all.

* * *

Jaz woke with a start the next morning and sat up straight in bed; her hair falling around her face and a sheen of sweat covering her goose bump riddled skin.

Fuck.

Despite trying to stay awake, she must have drifted off in the early hours of the morning and her mind had led her straight into a nightmare.

Breathing raggedly and trying to get her bearings, she finally remembered she was at the Vallins' and despite reaching out beside her looking for something, _for someone_ , she was alone.

This nightmare is one she hadn't experienced before. In it, Elijah and Dalton both lay dead on the floor, with bullet wounds in their foreheads. She stood over them and when she looked down, the smoking gun was in her own hand.

Her first instinct was to pick up her phone, but once it was in her hand, she turned it over and over for a very long time before placing it back on the night stand and just stared at it. She was almost willing it to ring or vibrate with a message, but it didn't.

She knew she needed to get up and start getting ready for the day ahead, but with those visions still crystal clear in her head, she was finding it challenging to do so. Instead she looked around the room and her gaze landed on a picture of Elijah in his army uniform. It was a candid picture of him laughing, and Jaz smiled wistfully at it. That was exactly how she remembered him. So many of her memories had him looking exactly like that in her head and she missed him more than ever in that moment.

After a small internal battle, she picked up her phone again and opened up her photos. She couldn't help but scroll to the selfies of herself and Adam that she had taken at the waterfall view point just two days ago.

Her throat tightened looking at them being silly together and kissing each other's cheeks. But when she got to the picture with Dalton kissing her on the mouth, her chest physically ached, as if someone was sitting on it.

She missed him.

She missed him so much.

She got up out of bed and threw on some clothes. She needed to go for a run. Physical activity had always helped to diminish the visions in her nightmares, and hopefully they might help get her mind off Adam too.

* * *

Dalton was up and hiking through the Blue Ridge Mountains as the sun rose.

He had barely slept again, and when he did manage to doze off, he was plagued with visions that he had been free of for the last few weeks. He would never forget seeing Jaz in the white outfit covered in blood when they blew up the door on the van, but seeing it in his nightmares had him waking up covered in sweat, barely being able to breathe.

The immediate scent of apples on his nose had him checking his phone, but there was still nothing from Jaz, not that he had expected there to be.

He missed her.

He really missed her.

So much so, that while he stood looking out across the treetops, he opened up their team WhatsApp chat and scrolled through to find the selfie that Jaz had sent to the group before Amir and McG had arrived. He saved it to his photos so he had easy access to it, and couldn't help but smile as he stared at the picture.

Jaz's big beautiful smile and those eyes that can look right into your soul were both on prominent display and he ached, physically ached just looking at it.

He startled a little bit as a message arrived on his phone, but it wasn't from Jaz. It was Preach to their group chat.

 _ **Looking forward to seeing all your faces tomorrow**_ – Preach.

Dalton was really looking forward to seeing Preach tomorrow. After the scare he'd given them all, seeing him up and around is something they all needed to see.

 _ **Me too, big guy**_ – Top

 _ **I'm so excited, I feel like I should shave for the occasion –**_ McG

 _ **Ha! So you can look like an 8 year old?**_ – Amir

 _ **At least I'm not the same height as an 8 year old**_ – McG

 _ **No Chaka Khan for you**_ – Amir

 _ **See you kids in the morning. Jaz, see you tomorrow evening**_ – Preach

 _ **:)**_ – Jaz

There it was. She didn't say anything, but she must be ok if she had replied to the group chat.

Dalton thought back to the ten days before Jaz arrived at his cabin. She had not replied to any of their group chats or any personal messages. Knowing that she had seen the messages was the only way they knew she was ok.

When she had shown up at the cabin, Dalton had urged her to let the guys know she was alive and ok, and he was happy to see that she had remembered that. No matter what the circumstances, they all needed to know that they were all ok. They were a team and too much had happened these last few years to take anything for granted.

As Dalton started to head back towards his cabin, he couldn't get Jaz and her beautiful smile out of his mind. But he would see her tomorrow. He just had to get through today to see with his own eyes that she was ok.

* * *

The next morning Jaz woke up exactly the same way she had the morning before. Sweaty, out of breath and gripped by another nightmare.

Damn it.

She had tried to tire herself out the day before to try and fall asleep deeply enough to bypass any nightmares. She had run in the morning, gone for a long hike with Elijah's family during the day and given herself a punishing circuit of push ups, sit ups, burpees and chin ups in the evening before dinner. With several alcoholic beverages after dinner, enjoying the Vallins' company, she had assumed the combined effort would have led to a deep sleep.

She should've known better.

The images that plagued her overnight were still imprinted in her head as she sat, trying to get her breath back. She picked up her phone, but there were no messages. She knew by now that the rest of her team were either already on a flight or heading to the airport on their way to Preach's.

She wasn't leaving for the airport until later this afternoon, and she had mixed feelings about it. She couldn't wait to see Preach. Knowing he was doing so much better and gradually getting back to normal, or their sense of normal, was such a relief.

And she couldn't deny that she ached to see Adam. Every fibre of her being ached to see him, as if he was the glue she needed to piece herself back together.

It had only been two days, but the pain deep in her chest wouldn't go away, the gaping hole in her stomach just got deeper and deeper and her thoughts never seemed to be free of him. Those three weeks she spent with him at the cabin were easily the best weeks of her life, and she was having trouble letting it all go.

Having said all that, she didn't know how she would cope seeing him later today. It was all still too fresh and she didn't know how she could just pretend like the last three weeks didn't happen.

How could she pretend that they hadn't slept in the same bed and found comfort in each other's warmth? That they hadn't kissed each other until they ran out of breath and then kissed each other again? That they hadn't explored each other's bodies and made love passionately, multiple times? That they, or at least she, hadn't experienced feelings that she had never felt before, and still didn't know how to verbalise?

How could she possibly try and keep that from the other three after only a two day break? She didn't think she could. They were all elite in their jobs, but this might be the one cover that she just couldn't play out.

* * *

Dalton's plane landed in Long Beach right on time that morning and as his plane taxied on the runway, making its way towards the gate he leant his head back on the head rest and took a couple of deep breaths.

He was tired. It had been a super early flight and he hadn't bothered to go to sleep beforehand, knowing that he had to be up well before sunrise. He hadn't slept on the flight either, there was too much going through his head for his body to be able settle enough to get some rest.

He would be seeing Preach in a matter of minutes and for that he was truly thankful. He had missed him. But he would also be seeing Jaz later on today and he had a million different feelings about that.

The first thing he did was collect Patton from the airline officials. He was getting to be a very well-travelled dog, but Dalton was glad to see he had coped well with the flight. He would love running around in Preach's big back yard.

Waiting to collect his bag from the conveyor belt, he felt a hand clap his shoulder and when he turned around, there was Preach looking fit, healthy and as tall as always.

"Preach." He exclaimed with a wide grin as he stepped forward and gave him a hug.

"Good to see you, Top." Preach said, hugging him back

"You too buddy, you too." Dalton said, so grateful that Hoffman hadn't managed to take Preach away from them all.

As Preach bent down to give Patton a scratch behind the ears, Dalton had a quick look around, "Amir here yet?"

"Yeah, he's just gone to the prayer room. He's going to meet us at the café while we wait for McG." Preach replied, slightly distracted.

"Everything ok?" Dalton asked Preach, noticing him frown a little.

Preach pressed his lips together before asking, "You heard from Jaz?"

Dalton checked his phone quickly, but there was no notification and after the familiar feeling of disappointment, he just shook his head.

Preach sighed and took a slight pause before breaking to Dalton, "She text me about an hour ago… she's not coming this weekend."

Dalton didn't respond straight away, but Preach didn't miss the colour draining from his face or the look of devastation creep across it.

Dalton was in shock. Jaz wasn't coming?

He cleared his throat and kept his gaze low, trying to keep any emotion on his face from Preach as he asked, "Oh… uhh - why's that?"

Preach stared back at him for a second before pointing to Top's bag on the conveyor belt behind them. Dalton grabbed it and Preach steered him towards the café, grabbing a seat before continuing this conversation.

"I thought you might know why," was all Preach said.

Dalton just looked back at him, still a little lost for words. To say he was devastated was an understatement. He knew he had been looking forward to seeing Jaz again, but until he heard that she wasn't coming, he hadn't realised how much. Those pains in his chest were back with a vengeance, so much so that he was finding it difficult to breathe.

Preach just sat observing him, internally shaking his head at these two,

"What happened at the cabin, Adam?" He prodded gently.

Dalton didn't know how to answer that, because the truth was, he didn't know what had happened. He knew that it was probably the best three weeks of his life, definitely in fact. He knew that he had never been happier than spending that time with Jaz, and that she had come to the cabin in the first place. And he knew that when Jaz left, it had thrown a spanner into his emotions that he was still battling to understand.

When Dalton just looked down and didn't offer an answer, Preach continued, "Have you talked to her in the last couple of days?"

Dalton kept his head low, but shook his head in response.

Preach sighed again. "Look, Adam, I've made my own assumptions about what's going on. You can either confirm or deny this, but I'm guessing you took my advice and let yourself feel something. And I'm also guessing that you and Jaz have no idea how to deal with the way you're both feeling?"

Dalton took a deep breath; Preach was as perceptive as always.

"There's – there's just so much confusion about everything. Most of all our jobs. And that's always going to be in the way. She deserves to be happy Preach."

"So do you." Preach replied simply.

Dalton finally looked up at him and Preach could see the truth in his eyes.

"I don't even know how Jaz feels." Dalton spoke softly, feeling a little helpless, but done with hiding how he was feeling, especially from Preach.

"Really?" Preach asked him with a raised eyebrow.

Dalton just looked back at him.

With a sigh, Preach asked him, "Ok ask yourself this. Why did Jaz choose _your_ cabin and _you_ to flee to? Not McG or myself. You."

Again, Dalton just stared back at him, again at a loss for words.

"I understand the confusion. I'm guessing there are a lot of blurred lines and feelings going on right now. But when life gets blurry, you need to adjust your focus. You live out the confusion until it becomes clear. What's important here, Adam? What would take the shattered look off of your face? What would help you sleep? It's clear you haven't been, you look like hell."

Ignoring the look Dalton gave him, Preach asked one last poignant question, "What would make you happy?"

Preach tried hard to get his words to register with Dalton. He'd never seen him like this, looking so despondent.

Before they could discuss anything else, Dalton saw Amir approaching their table and he stood up to shake his hand and clap him on the back.

"Feels like I only saw you a week or so ago." Amir said in his soft manner.

Dalton forced out a chuckle, not wanting Amir to be drawn into his drama, but little did he know that Amir had already read his facial expressions as he approached the table. Preach had already filled him in on Jaz's decision not to join them this weekend and he had drawn his own conclusions.

While they ordered coffee, the conversation turned very generic, until Preach stood up to go and meet McG. When a lull of silence fell over them, Amir reached into his jacket pocket and took out an envelope and handed it to Dalton.

"What's this?" Dalton questioned.

Amir just gestured for him to open it and when he did so he watched a multitude of emotions and looks cross Dalton's face. Curiosity, shock, intrigue, yearning, longing, acceptance and… something else.

A regular person probably wouldn't have observed all of this in Dalton's measured expressions. He was a master of façade, but this was Amir, a master of observation and he didn't miss a trick.

Dalton looked up at Amir quickly before glancing back down at the photos of himself and Jaz, from the day they went fishing at the lake. He remembered this day vividly, but he had no idea that Amir had taken these photos. They showed himself and Jaz sitting next to each other, Jaz's hand on his cheek, buried in his beard, their eyes locked together and smiling almost tenderly at each other, as if sharing a secret.

Amir hope he hadn't overstepped and just said softly, "I thought you might want to see them."

He was right. This was exactly what he needed to see, especially after listening to what Preach had said a few minutes earlier.

"You're not mad are you?" Amir asked when there was still no response from Dalton.

Still not taking his eyes from the photos, Dalton shook his head and replied slowly, "Nope, not mad. In fact, some things just became a lot clearer."

Amir smiled to himself, he hoped that meant what he was hoping.

Dalton held the photos in his hand a little longer before putting them back in the envelope and putting them in his jacket pocket. He hoped the decision and plan he had just made, would work out.

Seeing Preach approaching, he stood up to greet McG.

They shook hands and hugged, before McG blurted out, "So you going to get our girl or what?"

* * *

Jaz and the Vallins' had gone out for lunch and they still thought she was leaving later that afternoon. She hadn't told them about the decision she had made to cancel on her long weekend with her team. She figured she would still head to the airport and make a decision of where to go once she got there.

It hadn't been easy sending that text to Preach this morning, especially since she offered no explanation, but it's what she needed to do to protect herself.

She was trying to save herself from the pain; the pain of losing another person in her life who meant so much to her. The walls that she had wanted to rebuild around herself for protection, still lay in a rubble and rebuilding them was going to take a lot longer than two days.

If she distanced herself now, by the time they headed back to Incirlik, she would be fine and any awkwardness would be long forgotten.

That's not to say she wasn't breaking on the inside at the thought of not seeing Adam for a few months. That was one of the hardest decisions. He had become like oxygen to her. A necessity. Just thinking about him made her ache deep within her chest; an ache she had never experienced with anyone else.

Adam was like no one else she had ever met, and she's certain she wouldn't ever meet anyone else like him. The fact that she couldn't have him was just cruel, but it's what she was signed up for.

Feeling the sadness deep down in her bones, she excused herself from Elijah's family and walked out to the bungalow to pack up her belongings again.

Once she got inside, her phoned beeped with a message and looking down at her phone she was surprised to see it was from Amir. It contained one line:

 _ **Thought you might like to see these**_ – Amir

Following that sentence there were three photos attached and seeing them made Jaz's mouth fall open in shock. Amir had sent her the same photos from the lake that he had shown to Dalton earlier, and she was startled at what she saw in them. The expressions on both their faces and the look in their eyes spoke volumes. She was surprised that Amir had taken these photos, but they hit her with a jolt of realisation and she couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Hearing a knock at the door startled her out of her reverie, but she figured it was one of the Vallin's. Still clutching her phone in her hand, she walked to the door and flung it open, only to gasp at who she saw standing there.

"Top?" She asked in disbelief as those pangs in her chest struck her again suddenly and she felt her heart begin to pound.

"What - what are you... what are you doing here?" She managed to stutter out.

Dalton looked right into her eyes, his deep blue eyes holding the attention of her own. He just shrugged his shoulders and said gently, "Couldn't help it."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Did you get the throwbacks? They were:**

 **\- The pictures that Amir took of Jaz and Dalton from Chapter 14.**

 **\- The little phrase "Couldn't help it" that they exchanged several times in Chapter 20.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, there is obviously more to come. I purposely left details about Elijah's family, where they live and about Dalton's sisters very vague. I will probably introduce them in a greater capacity at a later stage if this turns into a big long story. I'm a little undecided at the moment.**

 **Tell me what you thought and thanks again for reading XXX**


	23. Chapter 23

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. I've fiddled about with it a lot, still not sure if I'm completely happy with it, but if I don't post it now, I might butcher it completely!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's character... but I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 23**

Jaz couldn't believe her eyes.

The very reason she had cancelled her weekend in Long Beach with the team, the very reason she had been determined to spend the rest of her leave by herself, the very reason she had lost so much sleep the past few days… was standing right in front of her.

And he looked fucking amazing.

Granted, he looked tired, and looked like he needed to sleep for a week. But that face that was so handsome, that beard which was so soft and those eyes that felt like they could look into the depths of your soul were having the same affect that they always did. She hoped she wasn't exhibiting anything externally, but internally she was aching for him.

She had missed him so much, and she started to feel the instant comfort that she always felt in his presence, whether she wanted to or not.

But she knew she had to get herself together. They had agreed to go back to the way they were; teammates, friends, colleagues. And while it's not what she wanted, they both knew that it was the way that it had to be.

So what on earth was he doing here?

When she had asked him, he had replied, "Couldn't help it."

Her eyes flashed a little as the recognition set in of the two of them speaking those three words to each other, several times, on their last day together.

 _Together._

But that was no longer the case.

"What do you mean?" She stammered, lowering her eyes from his gaze, not wanting to drown in those eyes, but her heart was hammering and she was afraid that he could hear it.

* * *

Dalton was trying to blink away the fact that she had called him Top when she answered the door. He knew it was habit and he knew it was easy to fall back on, but he had really loved hearing her call him Adam, at least for those few, precious days.

She looked beautiful. Tired, but beautiful.

He could see the bags under her eyes and knew instantly that she had barely slept since leaving the cabin. Despite that, he couldn't take his eyes off her. Her long, dark hair was loose and falling around her shoulders. Her tanned, glowing skin looked as smooth and soft as ever. And those eyes, her big, beautiful, expressive eyes looked back at him and he could drown in them if he let himself.

Fuck he had missed her, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that coming here had been the right thing to do.

He saw the flash in her eyes when he had answered her question as to why he was there with "Couldn't help it." He had hoped she would remember that reference to their last day together.

Seeing her again, even though it had only been a few days, he felt like he could breathe again. Like the giant weight that had embedded itself on his chest had finally fallen off.

* * *

"Top? What do you mean?" Jaz asked him again when he didn't answer her.

She watched as he blinked himself out of a trance and refocused his gaze back on her.

He took a deep breath before answering, "I mean exactly that. I couldn't help it, I had to come and see you."

"Why?" Was her instant response. She wished she hadn't retorted so quickly, but curiosity was getting the better of her.

Watching the uncertainty cross her face and the doubt shine in her eyes, Dalton knew he had to answer the question truthfully to give his reason for being here any credibility. He also knew if he lied, Jaz would be able to see right through him, and he didn't like lying, especially to her.

"I missed you." He managed to say, despite the giant lump in his throat.

Jaz inhaled sharply. She hadn't been expecting that response. And she wasn't quite sure how to respond. She could be completely honest and tell him that she had missed him so much it had hurt. That she thought about him and their time together so much that it drove her crazy. That Elijah's mom had noticed her zoning out constantly and kept looking at her knowingly.

But she didn't think she could say it. It wouldn't change anything. He was still her CO and she was still his subordinate.

Dalton was watching her face. To an untrained eye, she looked calm and nonchalant, but he knew better.

"Also, I told the guys I wasn't coming back without you. Our team isn't complete if you aren't there."

Jaz looked up at him and quirked an eyebrow, "That was cheesy."

Dalton held up his hands and sighed, "Yeah it was."

Realising that this wouldn't be easy he asked her, "Look, can I come in?"

Jaz looked around only just noticing that they were still at the front door, "Oh yeah, sorry."

As Jaz led him into the small living room, Dalton looked around noticing the bright décor and pictures on the wall. It was Elijah through and through and he couldn't help but smile in remembrance of their fallen teammate.

Looking over at Jaz he asked her gently, "How've you been these last couple of days? Being here I mean?" He clarified.

"It's been ok. Some mixed emotions, but it's been really nice seeing everyone." Jaz replied, a look of sadness crossing her face.

"It would have meant a lot to the Vallins' that you came here, Jaz."

"Yeah, to me too." She agreed with him, trying to look stoic.

Dalton just watched her and had no doubt that this had been a rough couple of days for her. He would never forget her reaction when Elijah had been killed. Or the weeks following. Even now, he knew that some days were still harder than others. Jaz had already been dealt a pretty shit hand in life prior to joining this team. Losing Elijah on top of that just seemed cruel.

He didn't want to add to that. If he had the power to do so, he would take away all her pain, all her nightmares and all her demons. He didn't want her to think she had lost anyone else. He wanted to see her happy, she deserved some happiness.

 _So do you._

Preach's words echoed in his head from when he had expressed his concern with this situation. And he may just be right. He had come here for a reason. He had come to see Jaz for a reason. It was about time he told her that.

He took a couple of deep breaths, gearing himself up and willing his heart rate to slow down.

"Jaz…" He started tentatively, looking at her as he did so, "… I'm here because – because I don't want you to think you've lost me too."

Jaz flicked her eyes towards him, not quite understanding what he meant.

Seeing the slight confusion on her face, he continued, "Look, I wasn't lying when I said I missed you. The only thing that kept me from going crazy these last couple of days is knowing I would be seeing you today."

Jaz's eyes widened slightly, but he wasn't done yet.

"When Preach met me at the airport and told me that wasn't going to be the case, well – that shook me. But after talking to Amir, everything became a lot clearer…"

"Amir?" Jaz interjected, not quite sure how he fit into this.

Dalton smiled slightly, before reaching in his pocket for the envelope that Amir had given him. He handed it to Jaz and saw the look of understanding dawn across her face as she looked at the photos.

Jaz quickly unlocked her phone and held it up to show Dalton those same photos.

"He sent them to you too." He stated rhetorically.

Jaz just answered with her own small smile.

"Well, it took looking at those photos to confirm what I had already been thinking, what I had already been feeling. The way we're looking at each other in those photos Jaz, the way we _both_ look in them…" He trailed off, looking down and searching for the words.

Jaz just watched him, trembling on the inside but needing to hear this from him, whatever he had to say.

He looked back up at her again after taking a deep breath, "We look happy. And I don't remember ever being as happy as I was, than when you were at the cabin with me."

He paused then and just held her stunned gaze and Jaz knew he needed something from her to continue. She nodded her head in agreeance to the blatant transparency that the photos depicted.

"We do look happy." She managed to murmur through the haze of confusion.

Dalton nodded his head back at her and took a step closer to her. Even though he could feel his heart thumping in his chest and he felt more nervous than when he's had a gun held to his face, he wanted to make this as clear as possible so that she had no doubt in her mind as to what he wanted.

"I want to be with you, Jaz. I want us to be together."

* * *

Jaz was in absolute disbelief and her heart was beating so strongly in her chest she was afraid it might jump out. Did Dalton really just say what she thought he said?

She was well aware that her mouth had dropped open and her eyes were as wide as saucers, but she had not expected those words to come out of his mouth.

She started to say something and then closed her mouth immediately. She wasn't quite sure what to say, but she couldn't deny that she had dreamed of him saying those words, many times and she was still trying to process his words.

Then she remembered their situation, and she started to frown.

"What about… what about – everything else?" She managed to stutter, her mouth struggling to form the words.

Dalton smiled ruefully and shook his head slightly, "Honestly, I'm not sure. But I figure we can figure that out as we go along, we're pretty good at improvising, right?"

Jaz still looked shocked, and Dalton was trying to figure out if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"It's not like you to go into something without a plan." Jaz said warily.

Dalton sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face. She was right, she was so right.

"I know, and I've thought about it a lot. I know that we have already well and truly demolished that line we aren't supposed to cross. But having done so, I've also been the happiest I've ever been. And I think you have too." He smiled at her tentatively, those cerulean eyes searching hers for agreeance.

Still stunned, Jaz still didn't know what to say and she glanced down, searching for words.

"Look, life is short. We've both learnt that the hard way. Who knows what will happen in a few months' time; who knows what will happen tomorrow? I just don't want to regret not taking this opportunity. We have a connection, and that kind of thing is not common, and from what I'm told, it shouldn't be ignored. I want to be with you Jaz, I really do." He reiterated, taking a couple more steps towards her, so he was standing right in front of her.

Despite so many questions and thoughts swirling their way around in her head, she couldn't help but look up into his eyes.

And all she saw there was the truth.

Her heart was still hammering so strongly in her chest that she put a trembling hand over it to try and calm it. So much for being a sniper! But this was the effect he had on her. He'd always tilted her world slightly, but now he was just turning it upside down.

She couldn't get their job and the rules that go along with that out of her head. Being Special Forces, there were some rules that got bent or they were more lenient on, but this was different. And that made her nervous. If things went sideways, it would be her that would be removed from the situation.

Having said that, Dalton was the CO in this situation. He was the one with the authority, and that being the case was why she had stepped aside, why she had fled and why she had cancelled her weekend at Preach's.

She hadn't wanted to make this harder for him. If anything was going to happen, it had to come from him. It had to be him initiating this.

And that's exactly what he was doing.

Watching her battle her thoughts, Dalton added, "I'm not suggesting this situation is perfect, and I honestly don't know what happens later, but… I've never felt like this before, Jaz."

She couldn't tear her eyes away from him and the sincerity shone in those beautiful blue eyes of his. She'd never heard him talk like this and had definitely never thought he would come to her like this.

She felt him peel her trembling hand off her chest and hold it in his own; his touch like a drug, instantly soothing. How had she forgotten how much she craved his touch in just a few days?

"Jaz, do you want to be with me too?" He asked her quietly and earnestly, feeling a little apprehensive at her lack of response so far.

Staring into those blue eyes she couldn't deny it or hide it any longer. She swallowed and very slightly, very slowly nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak at the moment.

"Yeah?" He asked hesitantly, wanting to be certain of her response, not wanting to misinterpret anything.

This time she nodded with more conviction, and a small nervous smile crept onto her face.

Dalton's heart soared, and that lump in his throat and the ache in his chest both eased somewhat.

He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, and grabbed her around the waist to pull her closer to him. Looking deeply into her beautiful brown eyes, he flicked his gaze to her lips before looking her in the eyes again. Moving his hands from her waist to gently cradle her face, he leaned down and brushed his lips to hers softly.

It felt like coming home. The touch and taste of her lips was like heaven and just a few days without Jaz's lips had felt like an eternity.

Jaz grasped him by the waist to pull him even closer and as a result Dalton deepened the kiss, slowly and sensually.

Enjoying the feel of his supple lips on hers, she leaned into the kiss even further and pressed herself as close as she could to him.

This had been the last thing she had expected when she woke up this morning, and definitely when she had texted Preach. She was still a little shocked, and she didn't quite believe it was happening.

She pulled back from his lips just to see the truth in his eyes again.

"We're really doing this?" She asked in her deep raspy voice, wanting to double check that this was real.

"We're really doing this." Dalton confirmed, he eyes shining with both candor and affection.

This time it was Jaz's turn to place her hands on his cheeks and pull his lips down towards her own. Their mouths met in the middle and they kissed like they had been waiting an eternity to do so. Their lips seemed to remember each other and combined in a way that had them both wondering why they had stopped. Dalton wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and held her close as he could.

When they managed to pull away from each other, they couldn't hide their smiles.

They both felt like they could breathe again, and they clung to each other, resting their foreheads against each other, just breathing each other in and taking stock of what had just unfolded.

Jaz had a million questions to ask and had a million thoughts running through her head. No doubt they still had a lot to talk about, but for now she would make do with just one question.

"What now?"

* * *

Three hours later, they were at the airport waiting to board Jaz's original flight on their way to Long Beach. Dalton had managed to get a seat on the flight and Jaz was still just pinching herself, still not quite believing this was real.

After what had happened, Jaz was easily convinced to share the weekend with her team. She just really needed to be near Adam again.

After reaffirming their desire to be together, Dalton had helped her pack up her belongings at the Vallin's, before they both went up to the main house to say goodbye. Elijah's parents had been surprised but delighted to see Dalton as he greeted them both with hugs. After explaining that he had hired a car at the airport, they said their goodbyes and he drove them back.

Saying goodbye to the Vallin's had been sad, but when Elijah's mom hugged Jaz, she did so with another of those knowing smiles and whispered in her ear to be happy. It was as if she already knew what was happening, as if she had known for the whole time Jaz had been there.

Once they boarded the plane they were happy to discover that they had three seats all to themselves, with no strangers sitting next to them.

Jaz sat in the window seat, with Dalton sitting in the middle, leaving a spare seat next to them giving them a touch more privacy.

It felt different to sit this close to Dalton in a plane. She had sat next to him countless times on military flights, in helicopters, in Humvees and the like, but never in a regular passenger plane, like regular people. She'd never been out in public, in such close proximity with him, and never with him alone.

It felt completely out of the ordinary, but so right at the same time, and when Adam reached over the arm rest to capture her hand in his and held on, she felt a warmth spread over her, and couldn't help but give him a shy smile, her cheeks tinged with pink.

It was only a short flight, so they didn't have time for a nap. They were both exhausted, but definitely had more pep in their step given the happenings of the afternoon. Instead they discussed what to do upon arriving at Preach's.

Jaz had thought that they would be back to pretending they weren't anything more than team mates for the weekend, until Dalton had pointed out that their first obstacle would be telling their team.

They were such a close knit unit, that they wouldn't be able to hide it anyway. It had been a struggle enough to hide things from McG and Amir when they were at the cabin, and Preach was way too cluey to hide anything from. They might as well do it while they were all together.

They were both nervous to do so, but they respected their friends too much not to tell them the truth. And this could test the waters for everything else that would crop up in the future.

Dalton had text Preach asking if he could pick him up from the airport. He didn't mention that Jaz would be with him too, he thought it might be a nice surprise for him.

After picking up Jaz's luggage from the baggage carousel, Dalton grabbed Jaz's hand to hold in his and asked her apprehensively, "Nervous?"

"Not at all," Jaz lied, "You?"

"Terrified." He admitted, with a small smirk on his face knowing that she had lied beyond doubt.

"Come on, Preach is meeting us on the curb side. He'll be the easiest to tell." Dalton said with a deep breath.

Hand in hand, they made their way out of the airport, towing the luggage behind them.

Jaz had a very private smile to herself. Holding Dalton's hand – _Adam's hand_ – in public was a whole new concept that she was going to have to get used to, but she liked it. She _really_ liked it.

From out of nowhere, they heard a slow clap. A couple more hands joined in almost immediately and they both looked up to see Preach, McG and Amir standing in front of Preach's SUV with enormous smiles on their faces.

Jaz felt her cheeks start to blush and she paused in shock. Dalton was shocked too, but he took another deep breath, gripped her hand tighter and they made their way over to their team mates.

"About damn time you two!" Preach said with a knowing grin.

"Fucking finally!" McG exclaimed.

And Amir just stood smiling at them both, knowing he had already played a small part in this reunion.

Dalton just looked at Jaz and laughed, "What were we worried about?"

Jaz just chuckled with him and shrugged her shoulders, before stepping away from him to give Preach a hug.

"I've missed you," Preach said into her ear as he picked her right off her feet and swung her around, making her laugh.

"Be careful, you're still in rehab," she reprimanded him, but he just laughed her off.

She then went and hugged McG, who also picked her up off her feet, earning himself a punch on the shoulder when he'd put her down.

Then turning to Amir she stepped into his open arms and whispered, "Thank you," into his ear.

He smiled back at her when they stepped back and whispered in return, "You're welcome."

Dalton shook all of their hands, having seen each of them already this morning, but he didn't fail to notice the varying smiles on each of their faces.

Preach's was one of approval. He was proud these two had finally figured it out.

McG's was one of excitement, like his two best friends were coming over for a sleepover.

And Amir's was one of sincerity. He was just happy to see Top and Jaz looking happy. They deserved it.

"Ok, let's get this long weekend started." Preach announced, leading them over to the car.

"Shot gun the front seat. I'm not squeezing in with the lovebirds." McG declared, striding his long legs towards the passenger seat.

The other's just rolled their eyes at him before loading themselves and the bags into the car.

Dalton and Jaz shared a small, private smile in the back seat. Their communication was as strong as ever as they exchanged silent relief at their team's reactions, albeit a little bewildered at their seemingly knowing acceptance of the situation.

But they could get into that later.

* * *

Pulling up to Preach's family home, they all piled out of the SUV and grabbed Jaz's bags to carry inside.

Dalton had been here before, but it was Jaz's first time and she looked around at the family home admiringly. She had never been to another family home other than Elijah's and seeing this one, with all the photos on the wall and knick knacks everywhere, made her feel instantly comfortable.

Amir and McG were sharing a room with twin beds in it, belonging to Preach's youngest two daughters. Jaz assumed she would be in his oldest daughter's bedroom and Dalton would be in the guest room.

As Preach led Jaz down a corridor on the ground level, he opened up the door to what was clearly a guest room. It was neutrally decorated and had a king sized bed and an ensuite bathroom. Jaz looked around and Preach watched her, smiling as he did so.

"This is for you and Top."

Jaz whirled around and looked at him questioningly, to which he just chuckled.

"Come on Jaz, you don't think I was born yesterday do you?"

Moving out of the way to let Dalton through, who clearly wasn't aware of the bedroom situation either, he just grinned at them both, eyes beaming as he walked out of the room, yelling over his shoulder, "Dinner is in an hour."

Dalton and Jaz just looked at each other, eyebrows raised, still a bit disbelieving at how easy this had been.

Jaz voiced that very thought, "This feels too easy so far."

Dalton nodded in agreeance and walked towards her, "I know. But, they haven't had a chance to give us shit about it yet, and we both know that's coming."

"Yeah." Jaz chuckled.

"We'll figure the rest out, hopefully with their help." He assured her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

Jaz just smiled at him. It was hard not to believe him when he sounded like this, and his confidence was one of the things she admired most about him.

She stepped into his arms and buried her face in his neck. She felt him hold her tightly against his chest and she had never felt happier in her life. She had never wanted anything or anyone this much in her life, and while that scared her somewhat, she trusted him, and their team.

She pulled back to look up into his face, "We better get ready to face the music."

"Yeah, who knows what crap McG has ready for us?" Dalton laughed and looked down into her eyes. Seeing them sparkling back at him, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, still not quite believing he was doing this unquestionably this time, with no doubts or questions in the back of his mind.

He wanted to be with Jaz. That was the bottom line. And they would deal with whatever obstacles that might stand in their way.

Together.

* * *

 **What did you think? Next up, a few fun days at Preach's!**

 **Thank you to you all for reading this story. I have lots of ideas to make it into a super long story, if you want..? I also have a few shorter stories I might start writing too. Special thanks to everyone who reviews. It really motivates me to write more and the feedback is always greatly appreciated and loved. Let me know what you thought XXX**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hope you enjoy this chapter with the team at Preach's house.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's character's... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 24**

Special Operations Group 7 were looking forward to their first dinner together in nearly six weeks. Being on leave and settled at Preach's house meant it was a super relaxed affair and they had never been happier and grateful to be all back together. Especially without the threat of the tough-book cam ruining their meal.

Preach admitted that his wife had cooked their meal tonight before she and his daughters had left for the long weekend. As Amir helped him put the pasta bake, garlic bread and salad on the table, McG made sure they all had a beverage to drink, alcoholic for everyone other than Amir.

Knowing that at some stage they would have to face a barrage of questions, Jaz and Dalton steeled themselves before taking their place at the dining table.

Sitting down, all with drinks in their hands, Preach raised his glass in a toast, "To good times on leave."

Dalton quickly raised his glass in response, "To you Preach, and your recovery. We're all glad you're on your way back to good health."

"To Preach." They all responded, glasses held high and with big smiles on all of their faces.

None of them will ever forget the harrowing hours after the blast, not knowing if he would make it or not. They had already lost one team member during the course of that deployment and the thought of losing another, especially one they all looked up to so much, had been devastating.

Dalton had taken it especially hard. He had known Preach a really long time and relied on him not just in the field, but for friendship and advice too. He was the male family member he had never had, but wanted. He didn't want to think about the darkness he would have descended into if they had lost Preach.

"So Amir…" McG broke into their thoughts, "How's Hannah? Frightened her off yet?"

"Hannah is great thanks, she says hello to you all." Amir answered with a small smile on his face.

"You clearly have a lot to fill me in on, but you look really happy Amir." Preach observed.

"I am, thank you."

"Speaking of filling us in…" McG directed towards Dalton and Jaz, wriggling his eyebrows teasingly.

They looked at each other smiling slowly, before looking back at McG.

"Ok, before you interrogate us…" Dalton started, addressing them all with his hand up in front of him to get their attention, "… just to be serious for a second, can we just say that we know this is a… difficult situation, and we know we are putting _you_ all in a difficult situation too. We're still figuring out how to tackle this, but if it makes you uncomfortable, or you have something to say, please do. After sorting ourselves out…" He turned and smiled softly at Jaz, which she returned, "… we knew we couldn't hide this from you guys, but we respect what you have to say. The intricacies of this situation haven't escaped us."

The other three sat there, just listening to Top while he spoke. Jaz couldn't help but look at her hands. She was still nervous about the whole situation. She knew she wanted to be with Dalton, but being open in front of the team was an entirely different concept, and not something she was used to.

Being who he was, Preach replied to Dalton, "Well I think I can speak on behalf of the three of us…" gesturing to McG and Amir, "… when I say that we won't be making this situation any more difficult for you."

Amir and McG nodded along with Preach while he continued, "We've been waiting for your damn asses to figure this all out."

"Figure this all out?" Dalton asked, confused, flashing a bewildered look at an equally confused Jaz.

Preach chuckled, "You two have been dancing around each other for too long. We knew it was only a matter of time."

"What are you talking about?" Jaz asked, still perplexed.

"Come on Jazzy, you know what we're talking about." McG accused her.

When Jaz and Dalton both looked at him innocently, he rolled his eyes.

"All the flirting, smiling, star gazing…"

They still just continued to stare back at him, their eye brows raised.

"Really?" He questioned them.

"Well then don't even get me started on 'sleeping on the floor'…" McG continued, using air quotes for the last little bit and a cheeky smile on his face.

Amir couldn't help but burst out laughing at this, earning him a sharp look from Jaz. When he caught sight of it, he put his hands up in surrender, but still with a smile on his face.

"You need to have your say too?" Dalton directed at him.

"I thought it was obvious on my first day with the team." Amir just shrugged.

"What was?" Jaz asked bluntly.

Amir looked at them both, "The exchanged glances, the immediate defence of each other, the way Top always looks to you first, the private conversations… these are just observations, not criticisms."

"Definitely not criticisms." Preach joined in, before continuing, "I think we've been aware of this way well before it registered with you guys, but that was half the fun, just watching you two circle each other. Sometimes what you truly need is right in front of you, but you've got to be willing to open your eyes and view things in a different light."

McG nodded and smiled and pointed to Preach, "The spiritual jujitsu is back!" Making them all laugh.

"We've all got a million stories about the two of you, maybe one day we'll share them with you." Preach teased before starting to eat his dinner.

After exchanging another glance, Dalton and Jaz just smiled at the other three and nodded their head in acknowledgement of their acceptance.

"Thank guys." Jaz said in a very low and quiet voice, still baffled by her team. They continued to amaze her.

She felt Dalton reach his hand under the table to squeeze her knee and she used her own hand to grip onto his momentarily. They were in this together, and they should have known their team would always have their back.

* * *

After dinner, the team went and sat outside by the pool, enjoying the warm night. Dalton and Jaz were completely wiped out after barely sleeping the last few nights, but they wanted to spend some time with their team.

Preach still had a couple of rehab appointments to attend over the weekend, but they wouldn't take long. McG talked to Preach a bit about how his treatment and rehab were going and offered to go with him to one of his appointments to chat to the doctors there, which Preach was appreciative of.

Jaz sat at the side of the pool, Patton at her side, with her feet dangling in, enjoying the feel of the cool water on her feet on this warm night. McG and Preach were still talking, sitting on the outdoor furniture just behind Jaz. Dalton and Amir were chatting and sitting a bit further around, their own feet dangling in the pool too.

She looked at these four men she worked with. Four of the five best men she had ever known, with Elijah being the only one missing. How the hell did she get so lucky?

She had felt lucky to have them before, particularly when they came for her in Tehran. That had been a break through moment for her, realising that she had people that actually cared for her, who actually cared if she lived or died. It had been Xander that helped her realise this. But now, knowing that they were in support of her and Adam and that they wanted both of them to be happy, her heart couldn't help but feel full.

Who would've thought that Jasmine Khan would have friends? Real, genuine, family-like friends?

She certainly hadn't thought so. Not friends like this anyway.

Then, she couldn't help but stare at Adam. At his confident but easy posture, at the way his eyes crinkled every time he smiled and at the way he looked at her and smiled, sensing her gaze on him.

Who would've thought that Jasmine Khan would have a boyfriend? _A boyfriend_?!

It felt strange to even use that word, especially about Adam. But, she had never been happier.

She smiled back at him, a secret and private smile. She felt so lucky to share a different level of intimacy with him now. A part of him that no one else had, and she still had to pinch herself to believe she shared it with him.

What a difference a day had made.

* * *

After another hour or two, they all headed to bed having all been up so early that morning. They knew that the next few nights probably wouldn't be so early if McG and his tequila had anything to do with it.

Dalton was relieved to close the door to his and Jaz's bedroom that night, even after McG had called out, "No loud funny business," to them as he went upstairs to where the rest of the bedrooms were located.

Jaz was sitting on the bed with a strange look on her face.

"What's wrong?" He asked her, looking concerned.

Jaz just shook her head slightly, "I just can't believe all of this."

"But in a good way, right?" Dalton checked.

"Mostly." She teased softly, tilting her head and smiling at him.

"It's weird isn't it?" Dalton asked her, sitting down on the bed next to her.

Jaz knew exactly what he meant. It was weird talking about them as a couple with the team. It was weird sharing a bedroom with each other while the team were around. It was weird that the team _knew_ they were actually sharing a bed, not one of them sleeping on the floor. And it was weird to actually talk to Adam about all of this, to be sharing all of this with him.

"But in a good way, right?" She teased him and he flashed her one of those grins that she loved so much.

After talking about it before arriving, and agreeing to make a conscious effort not to show any PDA in front of their team, they were both itching to touch each other. They pulled back the covers on their bed and got underneath them, laying on their sides facing each other.

They both just stared at each other for a few seconds, lost in their own thoughts.

"What are you thinking?" Dalton asked her while reaching out to run his hand up and down her arm.

"Nothing." Jaz was quick to answer.

"Jaz…" He drawled out, knowing her better than that.

"Ok, fine - I'm thinking that this day has turned out a lot differently than I thought it would. This morning I wasn't even coming here and I didn't think I'd see you for the rest of our leave. And now, here we are… In bed together, at Preach's house!"

Dalton huffed out a laugh, before sobering quickly. Today had been pretty surreal.

"When Preach told me you weren't coming, I was devastated," He admitted quietly, "Nothing has ever felt as right as having you in my life. _Really_ in my life. I wasn't willing to accept that."

Jaz lowered her eyes, "I'm sorry I left the cabin the way I did. I just couldn't… I don't know." She took a deep breath before continuing, "I was struggling with the thought of losing you, and I was trying to make it hurt less by not saying goodbye."

Dalton placed a hand underneath her chin and lifted it so that her gaze met him, "You're not going to lose me."

Jaz stared back into his blue eyes, shining with sincerity. She wished she could completely believe him, but life had shown her otherwise. She knew she trusted Adam more than anyone else, and more than she had ever trusted any other person in her life. She hoped she could work on everything else. It was another reason she wanted to talk to Xander.

That aside, it was hard to ignore the earnestness in his eyes. He made her feel safe, and that was a feeling she didn't think she would ever need from another person.

She shuffled closer towards him, placed her hand on his face so her fingers tangled in his beard, and kissed him, slowly and deeply.

She felt him place his arm around her waist and pull her even closer towards him so that their bodies were flush against each other.

Dalton kissed her back, slipping his tongue into her mouth and feeling the intensity of the kiss rapidly increase. They gripped each other tightly and their hands started to roam all over each other.

"I missed you, Jaz." Dalton breathed out, between kisses.

'It was only a few days." She managed to reply.

"Oh, so you didn't miss me?" he pulled away from her lips to ask her.

She groaned in protest and leaned forward to chase his lips with her own, but he moved his head further back, so far back that he rolled onto his back and she followed him, ending up laying on top of him.

When he still avoided her lips, she relented, "Ok, I missed you too. So much."

Looking satisfied, he finally let her lips meet his again and he tilted his head to instantly deepen their kiss.

Their need for each other was immense after being apart for a few days, and after their shared revelations earlier today. They just wanted to lose themselves in each other, but before they went too far they both felt themselves pulling away.

Breathing deeply, their chests rising and falling together, they both went to speak at the same time.

"You first." Jaz said.

"Not that I want to, but maybe we need to rein it in while we are here." Dalton suggested unconvincingly.

Jaz laughed softly at the look on his face. He clearly didn't want that, and another part of his body attested to that also, but she agreed with him.

"You're right. I mean we're in Preach's house, with the rest of the team upstairs."

"Don't remind me." Dalton groaned.

"We've done this before, we can do it again."

"Hopefully." Dalton said before reaching up to kiss her lingeringly again, before she rolled off of him and lay snuggled into his side.

Feeling slightly sentimental she murmured quietly, "Thank you for coming to get me, Adam. Again."

Dalton turned his head to meet hers, "I'll always come for you, Jaz."

Laying her hand on his chest, he gripped it with his own, and they held each other tightly, just enjoying being together. Falling asleep had never been so easy for the two of them. Warm, comfortable and content.

* * *

They woke up the next morning, like they had woken up so many times before, spooned around each other, legs tangled up and pressed close together.

Dalton had his arm around Jaz, clutching her back close to his chest and his head was buried in her luscious long locks.

Jaz revelled in the feeling of his strong arm holding her close, even more so since she had thought it would never happen again. She also revelled in the feeling of him, hard against her back. She smirked to herself, before giving a little wriggle against him.

He groaned into her hair and lay his hand flat against her stomach to simultaneously hold her still, but also hold her against him.

"You're going to kill me." He muttered, as he let his hand wander under her tank top to lay against the smooth skin on her stomach.

Feeling his hand against her skin, Jaz took a sharp breath in and felt his chest against her back shake in a laugh. He was just happy that he could get a rise out of her too.

"These few days are going to be a killer, aren't they?"

"We've survived them before, we can do it again. I'm sure we can still have some fun." Dalton whispered into her ear.

"Fun? Since when does Adam Dalton have fun?" She teased dryly.

"Really?" He said slowly, sliding his hand even further up her tank top until he cupped her breast in his hand. Using his thumb, he circled her nipple before dragging his nail over the nub, "You don't think I can have any fun?"

Trying to stifle her moans, Jaz turned her head to press her face into the pillow, as his thumb continued to tease her nipple, sending shock waves right down to her core.

All of a sudden he pulled away and jumped out of bed.

"Better get up and see what the plan is for today."

"Ugghhh!" She growled, turning to face him as he wandered into the ensuite, turning around to flash her a cheeky grin.

* * *

Amir made all of their tastebuds happy over breakfast with his signature Shakshouka. Preach was especially happy, having not been privy to this famous concoction for quite a while.

"Let's be clear Amir, you're on breakfast detail every day you're here." Preach exclaimed.

"Fine with me, whatever gets you better sooner." Amir said sincerely before joking, "And whatever keeps us away from McG's burritos."

"Hey, Preach loves my burritos." McG defended himself.

"Umm, yeah, about as much as I love rehab." Preach said dryly.

The rest of them chuckled, just happy to be back all together, and back to the usual ribbing and rapport that was normal in their team.

"So do you guys want to get out and about while you're here, or just chill and hang out here?" Preach asked them all.

"Well what are you feeling up to, buddy? We're just here to see you, we still want you to get better." Dalton reasoned.

"Let's see how rehab goes today and after I've talked to your doctors," McG threw in, "I don't want your wife thinking we've pushed you too hard."

Preach put his hands up, "Fair enough, it's just good to see all your ugly faces anyway, even if it's just hanging here by the pool."

"The water is excellent for non-weight bearing exercises." McG offered.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah – stop nagging." Preach chuckled.

Dalton smiled and took his coffee out to sit by the pool with Patton, and he was followed out by Preach and Jaz. After a little while Jaz asked Preach if he had any recommendations for where to run around his neighbourhood.

After he gave her a few directions, she went inside to get ready, collecting Dalton's empty coffee mug as she left, her fingers lingering on his as she did so.

Preach watched Dalton's eyes follow her until she disappeared inside, and couldn't help but notice the look of contentment on his face.

When Dalton caught him watching him with a grin on his face, he just rolled his eyes and said "Out with it."

Preach just shrugged, "It's just nice to see you looking happy, Top. I'm glad you took a chance."

"Yeah well, it was your stubborn words that stuck with me, about life being short and not seeing what was right in front of me."

"My stubborn words? If you weren't so damn stubborn, this would have happened a long time ago." Preach reasoned.

Dalton just smiled, "No, I think the timing is right now. I feel like my priorities have changed somewhat, and I've figured out what is important. Not to say the rest of it isn't important, but this feels good. It's not going to be smooth sailing though, we've still got a lot of hurdles to get over."

"You'll figure it out. Just like you've figured out what's important. And as the head cheerleader for Team Jalton, I'm with you every step of the way." Preach assured him.

"Thanks Preach," Dalton said, always feeling better after talking to him. Then he did a double take, "Jalton?" He asked with a confused look on his face.

"It's a ship name."

"What the hell is a ship name?" Dalton asked.

"Top, you need to keep up with the kids." Preach laughed and Dalton just kept staring at him, completely bewildered, but couldn't help but chuckle along with him, just so thankful to have Preach back to his usual self and as his and Jaz's biggest support.

* * *

Preach and McG left for Preach's rehab session a little while later. Amir was preparing a few different salads for their barbeque tonight and Jaz was still out on her run. Dalton decided to hit the pool and get a few laps in while he could.

While he swam, he couldn't help but think about what had happened over the last week. From Jaz leaving the cabin after they both called off what had been developing between them, to enduring those testing few days without her. From momentarily thinking he wouldn't see her for months to showing up at the Vallins' to try to change her mind. And the relief and the happiness of knowing she felt the same way he did.

But where to from here? They hadn't discussed anything past this long weekend.

As he surfaced at one end it was to find Jaz sitting on the side of the pool with her legs dangling in the water and looking flushed from her run.

"Hey." She greeted him with a small smile.

"Hey." He returned the sentiment, with the same smile, standing up in the water.

Jaz took a sharp breath in. She has seen Adam topless a million times, both on base and at the cabin. She had run her hands all over his chest and his rippling muscles, had kissed them too, but still the physical sight of him continued to take her breath away. He was beautiful.

Knowing they were out here alone, Dalton walked over so he stood in between Jaz's legs and rested his hands on her thighs.

"Want to join me?"

"With the others about to arrive home any time now?"

"Hmm, you're right. Maybe the hot tub later then?" Dalton suggested.

"Well it is good for Preach's recovery." Jaz laughed off and Dalton joined in with her laughter, running his hands up and down her thighs.

Turning serious for a minute, Dalton asked Jaz, "Hey, when is your appointment with Xander?"

"Wednesday at 10am." She answered simply.

"When do you fly to DC?"

"Tuesday at 11am." She answered him again, before asking a question herself, "When do you fly out?"

"Tuesday afternoon."

They were both quiet for a minute, both wondering what the next step was. They had finally realised that they wanted to be together, but in a few days they would be going their separate ways again, at least temporarily. With their recent revelations, that was the last thing they wanted.

They needed to think about this, but at least they had a few days to do so.

For now, Dalton had every intention of reaffirming to Jaz that he wanted her and wanted to be with her. He didn't want to end up parting like they did at the cabin a few days ago. She meant too much to him.

Looking up at her from his position in the pool, he couldn't help but want to be close to her. He slid his arms all the way up her legs, across her ass, earning him an eyebrow raise, and up around her waist. In one swift move he dragged her towards him, so her legs locked around him and then with a splash, he pulled her right into the pool with him.

Before she had a chance to let out a surprised yelp, he caught her lips with his and swallowed her exclamations. Jaz gave in to the kiss instantly, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him back, loving the feel of his beard against her face.

He didn't want the kiss to end, but knowing this couldn't go too far in Preach's pool, particularly in broad daylight, he pulled away with a big grin on his face.

Jaz grinned back at him, "You got me all wet," she blamed him.

He held her gaze steadily, "Is that right?" He asked her with a cheeky twinkle in his eyes.

Shaking her head slowly at him and unwinding herself from around him, she held his gaze and murmured, "You're terrible," but she couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her face.

She turned to haul herself out of the pool, and could hear that McG and Preach had returned and were in the kitchen with Amir.

Turning back to Dalton she said sassily, "I'd ask you to come in the shower with me, but we both know that you can't leave the pool for another couple of minutes."

Knowing she was absolutely right, he grimaced before saying, "Now who's terrible?"

Giving him a big smile that took over her whole face, she waved him off as she headed inside.

Dalton chuckled. He might be in a bit of discomfort for a minute or two, but it was worth it to see that smile on Jaz's face. And he would do just about anything to keep it there.

* * *

 **Next up - more time at Preach's!**

 **I posted another story, just a one-shot this time of Dalton watching over Jaz when they return from Tehran. It's called 'Keeping Watch' and I'd love to know what you think about it.**

 **I'd also love to know what you think about this chapter.**

 **Thank you as always for reading, and a special thank you to those who leave comments. I love reading them XXX**


	25. Chapter 25

**So this last week and weekend really kicked my ass, so for that reason I apologise for this being posted a day later than usual. I've quickly edited it this afternoon, so any mistakes are all mine, and apologies in advance for them.**

 **Also, I understand there a probably a few Australianism's in my writing. I understand that we spell some words differently and some phrases are different. If there are any you don't understand, please ask me :)**

 **I don't own The Brave of any of its characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 25**

Preach put on an epic barbeque for the team for dinner. Amir had prepared some salads and McG took care of drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

Preach's home and backyard was unlike any that Jaz had ever seen. The Vallins' had come close, but she had never been there with the whole team. Even though the loss of Elijah would always hurt and he would always be missed, being here in Long Beach with her Omega team truly was the family home she never thought she would experience.

She envied Preach's daughters and hoped they weren't too young to appreciate not only this warm and loving family home, but also the great guy they had for a Dad.

She briefly wondered how her life may have turned out if she had been lucky enough to have a man like Preach for a father. But refusing to dwell on that right now, she was just thankful she was lucky enough to call Preach a friend. He was her family regardless.

Seeing Jaz lost in thought, Dalton wandered over to her from where he had been supervising Preach's grilling. He was the barbeque king at their Quonset hut, but he realised he had to relinquish control at Preach's house.

"Everything ok?" He asked Jaz as he sat down in the chair beside her.

Jaz looked around at him and shaking herself out of her thoughts she smiled reassuringly, "Yeah, all good."

He looked around at their surroundings and had an idea of what she had been thinking. He'd thought it himself on the few occasions he had been here. Preach's family and his home wasn't something he was jealous of, but he certainly envied it. His own family home didn't contain many happy memories, but he knew Jaz's didn't contain any – at all.

He reached out to run his fingers up and down her arm, and Jaz knew without even talking about it that he knew what she had been thinking about.

Before she could say anything, McG broke them out of their reverie.

"Alright you two, before you get all handsy, get one of these margaritas into you."

McG handed them both one of his concoctions, before handing Amir a glass too, "Don't worry, it's a virgin margarita for you."

"So, it's juice?" Amir queried.

"Yeah but virgin margarita sounds so much better." McG defended.

"Geez McG!" Jaz choked after having a sip, "Is this all tequila, no juice?"

"Had to make up for Amir's somehow…" McG laughed.

"By the look of it, I'm better off." Amir said as he walked inside to get the finishing touches for dinner.

Preach wandered over with the grilled meat all ready to go and they sat around the outdoor table and dug in. They downed a few more of McG's margaritas, appreciated Preach and Amir's cooking and teased and laughed at, and with each other.

* * *

Eventually, they all ended up in the hot tub.

After the margaritas they were all a bit giggly, excluding Amir of course, but he was used to it. Even Preach had downed a few drinks, more than he had done since before the blast. Not wanting to go too hard, after half an hour in the hot tub, he took himself off to bed, but assured the others they should stay in for as long as they wanted.

Amir was the next to depart, wanting to chat to Hannah since he knew she was still awake.

McG, Jaz and Dalton enjoyed the extra space in the hot tub and McG made the three of them one more margarita. Even though Jaz and Dalton were trying to refrain from PDA in front of the team, the more they drank, the flirtier they got. Or as flirty as they were going to get in public.

"Ok, well this third wheel needs to go to bed. He knows when he's not wanted." McG said dryly as he hauled himself out of the hot tub.

Jaz and Dalton barely noticed him leaving, which he didn't take to heart, in fact it made him smile. Those two had a lot of catching up to do, he just didn't need to be around to see it.

Jaz and Dalton just sat in the hot tub smiling at each other. They had barely noticed McG leaving, but they were definitely aware that they were now alone.

"No bikini huh?" Dalton observed, even though she still looked amazing in her one piece swim suit.

"Thought I would just keep that for when we are alone, for both our sakes." Jaz explained.

"Probably a good idea, although you look amazing in the swim suit you have on too." He admitted, before holding his hand out towards her, which when she accepted, he used to pull her closer to him.

Feeling bold, Jaz manoeuvred herself so she was on Dalton's lap and almost nose-to-nose with him.

"Hi." She rasped in that gravelly voice of hers.

"Hi." Dalton smoothly returned and he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close.

Her hands went up to cradle his face and she thread her fingers through his beard.

"Your beard is getting long."

"I thought you liked my beard." He commented.

"I do, I'm just making an observation." She shrugged as she moved her hands around the back of his head to play with the hair at the nape of his neck.

He ran his hands up and down her back, holding her body close to his.

Their lips were only millimetres away from each other, but they were out in the open, exposed, and at Preach's house. They weren't feeling bold enough to risk being caught just yet. The team knew they were together, but they had no intention of carrying on in front of them. Even knowing they were in the same house was enough to curb their affections… but not their needs.

"Maybe we should go and wash this chlorine off in the shower." Dalton suggested.

Jaz didn't respond, she just looked him dead in the eye, licked her lower lip and stood up to climb out of the hot tub.

Following her lead, Dalton did the same and they wrapped themselves in towels, made sure all the lights were off and the hot tub was turned off, because they were responsible adults after all, and high tailed it back to their room.

Jaz wasted no time at all. As soon as they entered the bedroom, she removed her swim suit and walked into the ensuite bathroom and by the time Dalton joined her, the water was already running and she was under it.

Dalton wasted no time and walked straight into her arms and crashed his lips onto hers. They were hungry and needy. The steam in the shower could well have been coming off their bodies during this all-encompassing kiss, their bodies rubbing against each other, hot, bothered and turned on.

They were both regretting the pact they had made to rein it in while they were staying at Preach's house. They wanted each other so desperately. But they had too much respect for Preach and their team mates, and they knew that even though their bedroom was on a different floor to the rest of them, their need for each other would ensure that staying quiet would be impossible.

Some harmless touching wasn't out of the question though.

Jaz let one of her hands wander down to where she could feel his hardness pressing against her. She let her fingertips dance over the tip, causing his hips to thrust as if chasing her fingers. Smiling into his mouth, which was still on hers, she gripped him firmly and began to stroke him up and down.

She felt the groan out of his mouth on her lips.

"Fuck Jaz, I've missed you so much."

She kissed him even harder, their tongues doing battle in the others mouth. As her hand moved faster on him, he placed his hands on the tiled wall on either side of her head to brace himself. The pleasure that Jaz was eliciting from him was already threatening to boil over and his hips thrust in time with her stroking. Just a few days apart and this felt like she was touching him for the first time. He felt like a teenager, but he had little control over his body right then and before he knew it he was pulsating in her hand and shuddered repeatedly as he came in her palm.

Still kissing him, Jaz smiled into his mouth. She loved that she had this effect on him, especially since she knew he had the exact same effect on her.

Dalton's hips finally slowed down and he pulled back from Jaz's lips slightly to look her in the eye.

"Your turn." He whispered seductively as he let his own fingers slip down her body, separating her folds and zoning in instantly on her clit.

She gasped at the instant feeling of pleasure that his fingers provided and knew that she wouldn't be able to be quiet and that she wouldn't last long.

"I've missed you too, Adam." She whispered back, returning his sentiment from moments before, before crashing her lips back onto his to drown out her cries.

His finger moved back and forth across her clit, sending mini shockwaves throughout her entire body. Keeping his thumb on her clit, he slipped one finger inside of her and began to pump it in and out of her in time with the rhythm her hips were dictating.

Jaz gripped onto his shoulders tightly to keep herself braced and when he saw her starting to give in to the euphoria, he slipped another finger inside of her, causing her to moan into his mouth at the sensation.

He moved his fingers faster and faster inside of her, while his tongue moved inside of her mouth in a similar rhythm.

Feeling her starting to convulse on his fingertips, he flicked his thumb over her clit even faster and as she moved her hands from his shoulders to grip his head tightly in both her hands to hold his lips against hers, he felt her come apart.

Wave after wave of sensation quivered through Jaz's body as she lost control of her body movements. It had only been a few days without Adam's touch, but it had felt like a life time. They continued to kiss each other, both still rocking together with the last shockwaves running through Jaz's body.

They might be reining it for this long weekend at Preach's, but the pleasure they still provided and drew from each other, still took their breath away.

They slept like babies that night. Wrapped up around each other and exhausted, but satisfyingly satiated… for now.

* * *

Dalton was up early the next morning and found Preach in the kitchen, just starting to make his smoothie.

"You're up early Top."

"I'm always up early." Dalton defended himself.

"Yeah, but now you've got a reason to stay in bed…" Preach teased, with a big grin on his face.

Dalton felt himself blush, and he can't remember the last time he blushed. Seeing this, Preach had a chuckle to himself, he knew he would be having fun with this for quite a while.

No sooner had Dalton put the coffee pot on than Amir, Jaz and McG all appeared in the kitchen.

"It's like a beacon." Preach observed, indicating towards the coffee pot.

Jaz shuffled into the kitchen and went and stood next to Dalton. Knowing she wasn't a morning person, he handed her a large cup of coffee and subtly brushed her hand with his, for which she rewarded him with a big smile.

McG and Amir saw the exchange and raised their eyebrows at each other.

"Guess I'll just get my own cup of coffee." Mcg said sarcastically, before he saw Dalton turn around with two more mugs in his hand, with his eyebrows raised.

"My bad, Top." McG immediately apologised, "Just making sure you weren't playing favourites."

"Since when did you become the moral compass of our team?" Preach teased him.

"Since I lost my spot as Top's favourite."

Dalton snorted, Jaz laughed, Amir chuckled and Preach just raised his eyebrows at him.

"Way to make a guy feel special guys." McG sulked jokingly.

"You'll get over it." Preach said dryly before changing the topic, "So are we heading out today or staying in?"

"No rehab today?" Dalton asked him.

"Not on Sunday. A buddy of mine works on one of the Catalina ferries. We could go there for the day…"

"Are you ok to go out, Preach?" Amir asked.

"Well since I have my own private doctor with me this weekend, I figure I should be fine." Preach tilted his head towards McG.

"On a boat though? Isn't your inner ear damage causing you a few problems?" Amir persisted.

"What do you think doc?" Preach directed to McG.

"I can give you something for any nausea you might feel, but if we go, I'm not leaving your side all day."

"Lucky me." Preach replied dryly, before continuing, "Ok, let me give my buddy a quick call."

When he left to grab his phone from the bedroom, Dalton confronted McG, "Is this injury a problem? Should he be going out?"

"Not going to lie, inner ear injuries and damage are tricky and can be slow to recover from. But he'll be fine with all of us with him. It's not like we're going parachuting or bungy jumping. I'll keep my eye on him." McG was confident Preach would be fine to get out and about today.

Dalton nodded, happy with McG's assessment.

Preach walked back into the kitchen looking chipper, "Ok, all set. We need to move out in an hour. Pack your beach gear, I'll grab some towels."

The other four couldn't help but all smile at each other. Seeing Preach like this, happy and excited… and alive, made them all happy too. And they couldn't wait to head out and spend the day all together.

* * *

The ferry ride over to Catalina was fairly uneventful and even Preach made it through with no nausea or balance problems. Despite that, McG barely left his side, not wanting to take any risks.

They were keen to go snorkelling once they arrived, so they hired their masks, snorkels and flippers and went and found a spot on the beach to spread their towels out and dump their gear.

Preach had to avoid getting his ear wet, so he would be minding all their gear and soaking up some sun on the sand. McG tried to stay with him, but Preach insisted he would be fine for an hour or two, while they explored in the water.

Once again, Dalton was glad that Jaz hadn't worn her bikini. He thought she looked amazing in all of her swim suits, in just about every outfit actually, but he had no control over himself when he saw her in that bikini. A beach full of people was hardly the spot for him to lose his mind.

They spent a good couple of hours floating around and exploring the beautiful marine life. Every ten minutes or so, one of them would surface to look towards Preach, making sure he was ok. He gave them the thumbs up signal every time.

After a couple of hours, they all went and had some lunch at a burger place on the pier before deciding what to do for the rest of the afternoon on Catalina Island.

Preach, McG and Amir, not so subtly, decided to go and play 9 holes of golf, knowing that Dalton and Jaz weren't really golfers or fans of the sport. It was also a low impact sport that Preach would be able to handle, but regardless, Dalton had a quick word to Preach before they took off.

"You sure you're ok to do this?" Dalton asked, a note of concern in his voice.

"You have my word that if it's too much or I start feeling dizzy that I will stop. Besides, McG will be right there with me." Preach reassured him.

"I know, but it's not necessary to make yourselves scarce, just so Jaz and I can be alone."

"We know that, but from what I can gather, you and Jaz went through an emotional few days, and you haven't really had much time to yourselves. Enjoy your afternoon, enjoy your time together. Today's moments are tomorrow's memories. Make lots of them."

"We don't call you Preach for nothing huh?" Dalton chuckled.

"Enjoy my friend, see you this afternoon." Preach called out as he left the pier area with Amir and McG.

* * *

Dalton and Jaz were a little taken aback but also appreciative of the others to give them a little bit of time to themselves. It was unexpected, but they couldn't deny that a few hours alone sounded great.

Standing at the top end of the pier, they looked around before deciding what to do.

Dalton stepped forward smiling at her, took Jaz's hand in his and said "I know", before leading her down the pier.

Jaz took a moment to enjoy just holding Adam's hand. Like a normal couple would. Not that they weren't a normal couple, but their job came with so many speed humps, that holding hands in public may soon be a non-option. But for today, she would enjoy his large hand wrapped around her smaller one, walking shoulder to shoulder with him and the plethora of feelings that came with it.

She laughed when he stopped in front of a bait and tackle hire shop. Of course she wanted to go fishing off the pier, it was her new favourite hobby! Hiring all the equipment was quite quick since Dalton knew exactly what they would need, and they wandered down the very end of the pier to find a quieter spot.

Setting up all their gear didn't take too long now that Jaz knew what she was doing too, and they were quickly sitting side-by-side with their rods in the ocean.

"So the guys aren't great at being subtle, huh?" Jaz laughed.

"Far from it." Dalton agreed, before smiling at her, "But I'm not complaining."

"Me neither." Jaz replied, suddenly feeling shy.

Dalton smiled to himself. Prior to this leave, he'd never really known Jaz to be shy. Quiet sometimes, definitely outspoken, and always ready to give a piece of her mind, but never shy.

He liked it. It was a softer side to the Jaz that was portrayed on deployment and on missions. He really liked getting to know all these different parts of her, he hoped there was a lot more to discover too. He wanted to know everything about her.

He sat thinking about how much had changed in the last few weeks between the two of them. Yeah, there had always been _something_ between them. But he never thought that they would be at this stage. Together. As a couple.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Jaz broke through his thoughts.

Reaching over to brush her hair off of her face, he said simply, "I'm just really glad we're doing this."

She gave him one of those big beautiful smiles of hers that lights up her whole face and leant over to kiss him.

"Me too." She whispered as she pulled back to look into his eyes.

He quickly leant forward himself and gave her another quick kiss on her lips, before he turned serious, "I know we still have a lot to talk about, and a lot to figure out, but being here with you is right where I want to be."

Jaz could feel herself melting. She'd never known Adam to be this open about his feelings. She'd seen a few glimpses when he had shared a few personal memories and stories with her, but most of the time he was generally quite closed off.

She liked it. It was a softer side to the CO he was on deployment and on base, and understandably so. That was a tough job, and he could only get it done with a certain demeanour. He was one hell of a leader, but she had always known there would be a lot more to him, based on the small private moments they had shared over the years.

She still needed to keep pinching herself that the last few weeks had even happened. She'd always respected him, from the very first moment she met him. From the subtle ways he made it clear that her gender was not a barrier, that she had nothing to prove to him, and that she was an asset to the team. Elijah had liked to tease her about her 'crush' on their captain, but she had always brushed him off.

Truth was, she knew they had always shared a special bond, one that she didn't share with the others, even Elijah. But being together now, that was a different thing altogether. And she really, really liked it.

They fished for another hour, with not much luck, before returning their gear and having a wander around. They walked hand in hand, enjoyed the scenery and each other's company. When it was nearly time to meet the others, they stood on the side of the pier, arms resting on the rail and just watched the water lapping at the sand.

Dalton watched the gentle breeze blow Jaz's hair and the sun reflect off her bronzed features. She was picture perfect right then and he wished he had Amir's fancy camera to capture the moment. Instead, he pulled out his phone and snapped a quick picture of her while before she realised what he was doing.

"Hey, since when do you take sneaky pictures on your phone?" Jaz asked, a little shocked.

"Just trying to keep up with all your selfies." He shrugged, "And you look beautiful right now, I wanted to capture the moment."

"Just right now, huh?" She teased him before he just tilted his head at her, knowing she was joking.

Watching his face start to smirk she placed her hands on his chest, tilted her head up towards his and kissed him. In public. On the pier. For everyone to see.

Dalton placed his hands around her waist and pulled her close, not wanting to let go just yet.

At that moment Preach, McG and Amir were starting to walk towards them, but when they saw Jaz and Dalton start to kiss, they all stopped momentarily, nudging each other. It was strange for them to see their CO and Jaz like this, but at the same time, it was what they had been predicting for so long and they were genuinely very happy for them, even if seeing them kiss was a bit bizarre.

They kept walking towards them until they were right next to them.

"Gross." McG deadpanned, loud enough to pull Jaz and Dalton out of their embrace.

They looked both annoyed and apologetic at the same time, but when McG broke into a smile, they did too and there was that shy look on Jaz again.

"Come on love birds, we don't want to miss the ferry." Preach said with a small smile on his face.

Although they had agreed on no PDA in front of their team, they couldn't help but hold hands as they walked towards the ferry, trailing behind the others. They had all just seen them kiss, so a bit of hand holding was rather mundane in comparison.

But they both couldn't help but smile to themselves and to each other. Was this real? Was this really happening? They were still in disbelief, but so happy.

So damn happy!

* * *

 **Dalton and Jaz make me so damn happy too! I'm still so pissed that the show got cancelled!**

 **Thank you to those who commented such lovely things on my last chapter, and apologies that I haven't had chance to reply to them yet, it really was one of those weeks!**

 **Anyway, what did you think about this chapter? As always, thank you so much for reading, I really appreciate it. And thank you to those who leave comments, I love you all XXX**


	26. Chapter 26

**This chapter is slightly shorter than my previous ones, but I wanted to start the next chapter with a specific scene. Hope you enjoy!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of its characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 26**

McG decided that their second last night at Preach's was going to be a big one. He had a bottle of tequila ready to go and they were going to order pizza when they got home from their day trip to Catalina.

Preach was understandably tired after a big day out; his biggest day so far since the blast that nearly took his life. McG checked him over just to make sure everything was ok and Amir made sure the hot tub was on so that Preach could relax in it after their dinner.

Dalton took Patton for a quick walk since he had been by himself all day and McG decided to join him.

After their usual chit chat of teasing each other and laughing at each other, McG thought he'd ask about Jaz.

"How are Jaz's nightmares?" He asked tentatively.

"Honestly, she doesn't have any when we are together…" He shrugged, but seeing McG's small smile he just shook his head and laughed, "… don't start."

"It doesn't bother me at all, Top." McG assured him.

"You guys really knew that I wasn't sleeping on the floor at the cabin?" Dalton asked incredulously.

McG didn't need to reply, his look said it all.

"Ok, ok… Anyway, when I turned up at the Vallins', it was obvious that she had barely slept. She looked exhausted." Dalton said softly, saddened that Jaz had reverted back to her old sleeping habits.

"So did you, Top." McG said simply, giving Dalton a knowing look.

"Yeah, I know."

After a moment of silence, McG continued, "I think it's great that you manage to comfort each other and sleep well when you are together. But I'm concerned for that situation long term. It's not always going to be feasible for you guys to sleep together, or if you guys…" He drifted off, not needing to finish the sentence.

"Yeah, I know." Dalton repeated, well aware of his train of thought, as he had thought it himself.

"It's important that you both gain some strategies to work through this. Not to say you'll be nightmare free forever, but just to lessen the impact of them. For both of you." McG explained.

"I'm glad Jaz is booked in to see Xander." Dalton acknowledged.

"You thought anymore about talking to someone yourself?"

Dalton paused and took a couple of breaths before he answered, "I have, but I'm still giving it some thought."

"Well you know I'm happy to help however I can."

Dalton smiled gratefully, "Thanks McG."

Deciding to change the topic, McG said excitedly, "Ok, let's head back, we have tequila to drink!"

Dalton just laughed, appreciating that McG could turn so quickly from a serious conversation to a light hearted one. It was one of the things he admired most about McG, and made him such a valued member of their team.

* * *

While Dalton and McG were out walking Patton, and Preach was taking a quick power nap before dinner, Amir sat showing Jaz some of the photos he had been taking, which was somewhat of a new hobby for him.

They sat at the kitchen bench with Amir's laptop open in front of them as he flicked through some photos. A lot of them were from his trip to Lebanon to see his parents. Jaz loved seeing those and where Amir had grown up. She especially loved seeing pictures of his family. She might have had a fucked up family of her own, but she loved to see and hear about other people's families. It gave her hope.

There were some photos from his time in DC and the tourist destinations he visited, and of course there were a few photos of Hannah. He immediately blushed when her face came on the screen, and Jaz couldn't help but laugh out loud and bump her shoulder into his.

"How is Hannah?" She asked teasingly.

With his cheeks still pink and a small smile on his face he answered her, "She's great."

Jaz smiled at him, "You look happy, Amir."

"I am." He said softly.

Jaz didn't know Hannah very well. Other than seeing her on the tough-book cam and a couple of times during their debrief in DC post-deployment, she hadn't had much to do with her. Remembering she was going to be in DC, she mentioned it to Amir.

"I'm going to be in DC with McG next week, maybe we could all have dinner?" Jaz suggested.

Amir was genuinely surprised and happy at the suggestion, still so happy that his friendship with Jaz was continuing to develop.

"Sounds good." He said simply, before turning back to the photos.

The next batch were from his time at Dalton's cabin. There were quite a few from their hikes, from the waterfall, a lot of nature and their fishing expeditions. They were all impressive, Amir really had an eye for photography. And then they came across the pictures he had taken of Jaz and Dalton, without them knowing.

This time it was Jaz's turn to blush, and he returned her shoulder bump from moments earlier.

"You look happy, Jaz." He shadowed her comment from before.

Jaz turned to smile at him, happy to be able to acknowledge this, "I am."

"I'm glad, you deserve to be." He said to her, "And so does Top."

"Thanks." She said quietly, still blushing slightly.

Smiling back at her, Amir continued to flick through the rest of his photos, hoping that Jaz and Top would be able to overcome any challenges that presented themselves. They were perfect for each other, he just hoped they saw that too.

* * *

When the pizzas arrived for dinner, they took them out the back by the pool, to once again enjoy Preach's fantastic outdoor area.

Patton sat at their feet, gazing eagerly at each slice of pizza each of the team members brought to their mouth. Every now and then they would toss him their crusts, which he would demolish, before approaching his next target.

McG had set up a drinks table, excitedly expecting a big night. It had beers, juice and tequila, all lined up along with shot glasses, salt and wedges of lime.

With the exception of Amir, the team were starting off with beer, wisely leaving the tequila until later on. Preach knew he wouldn't be consuming as much as McG intended to. He was happy to have a few drinks, but he wasn't stupid enough to risk the progress he had worked so hard to achieve in rehab, or the wrath of his wife.

He was however, happy to sit back and watch the antics of his team. And laugh at them.

He watched as Dalton and Jaz took on McG and Amir in a game of volleyball in the pool. McG and Amir were their own little comedy act, alternating between their bromance and hanging shit on each other.

The losing team would be taking the first tequila shots of the evening, but it back fired on McG because when he and Amir lost, he had to take a shot for himself, and then Amir's too. The same thing happened in the second round so the third round was forfeited so that McG didn't end up in bed in the next half an hour.

Wrapping themselves in towels, Amir excused himself temporarily to go and call Hannah.

"Man, he's whipped." McG joked as Amir walked inside.

"You sound jealous." Jaz said to him dryly.

"Not even close Jazzy, one of us has to fly the flag for single life." McG said to her pointedly.

Jaz huffed out a laugh, still a little surprised by not only the team's easy acceptance of her and Adam's situation, but the actual situation itself. She looked over to where Adam was pulling up a chair next to Preach and felt a rush of something she couldn't describe. But when she caught his gaze and a slow smile spread across his face, her heart pounded way more than it should for someone with her level of fitness.

* * *

An hour or so later, and a couple of tequila shots later, all except Amir were feeling the effects. Preach had only had a couple, but after quite a while without alcohol, he knew he had reached his limit for the night.

Dalton and Jaz had consumed a few each and were just at the tipsy stage, but McG was well and truly drunk. Luckily he was a happy and hilarious drunk, so he was providing much entertainment.

Jaz had gone into the kitchen in search of snacks and had found the ingredients for nachos. Knowing that they would all be grateful for the extra food in their stomachs, she started arranging some on a platter.

"Good idea, McG needs something to soak up the tequila." Dalton laughed as he wandered into the kitchen and stood across the kitchen bench from her.

"He'll still be sleeping beside a bucket tonight though." Jaz said with a knowing smile on her face.

"Standard McG." Dalton agreed with her.

"Yeah, he'll be fun in DC next week." Jaz said sarcastically, rolling her eyes but smiling at the same time.

She didn't actually think McG would be a burden at all. He liked to have fun, but when he was in medic mode, you couldn't ask for someone better to have your back.

Thinking about what she had just said, reminded Dalton that they were going their separate ways again in under 48 hours. He was determined that they would not be parting the way they did when Jaz left the cabin.

With that in mind, he looked at her and said, "Jaz, let's talk tomorrow about what happens when we leave here."

Jaz looked up and him and couldn't completely disguise the look of apprehension in her eyes. She had been thinking about her trip to DC and although she knew they were in a much better place at the moment, she couldn't help but worry what the distance might mean.

Not missing the look in her eyes, Dalton walked around the kitchen bench and stood behind her as she finished up the nachos, trying to keep herself busy.

He slid his arms around her waist from behind and brought his mouth down so it was beside her ear.

"We're not saying good bye this time Jaz," He whispered into her ear, "We'll figure this out."

Taking comfort in his arms and words, Jaz stopped what she was doing and placed her hands on his arms at her waist. She felt him press a tender kiss to her temple and she turned around to face him, his arms still locked around her.

Looking up into his eyes, she could see the truth in them and in return he could see the relief and belief in her own eyes. They smiled at each other, knowing that this time they wouldn't make the same mistakes as last time. This time they would talk. They would figure it out. Together.

She lay her hands on his chest and reached up to kiss him, holding her lips there for a long moment. Pulling back slightly she whispered against his lips, "We'll talk tomorrow," before giving him another quick kiss and pulling away to finish up the nachos.

* * *

The night rounded up with them all once again in the hot tub, and a couple more tequila shots each had Dalton, Jaz and McG with guaranteed hangovers tomorrow.

Preach and Amir had laughed quietly at them, not worried at all about these three soldiers, but highly entertained by their conversations and antics. Eventually Preach, Amir and McG all drifted off to bed with Amir grabbing a bucket to place by McG's bed.

Dalton and Jaz were still in the hot tub and were still feeling some of the effects of the tequila in their systems. The hot tub was too warm and Jaz could feel her cheeks on fire, with no mercy shown by the alcohol.

Deciding she needed to cool down, she jumped out and went and stood by the pool.

"What are you doing?" Dalton asked her.

"Cooling down." Jaz answered before she executed a perfect dive into the pool.

Dalton stood up and got out of the hot tub too. Walking over to the pool, Jaz tried to coax him in with her. He didn't need much convincing and dived in to surface right beside her.

While Jaz was treading water where he could obviously stand, he grabbed her arms and placed them around his shoulders.

Feeling him pulling her close, Jaz smiled one of her big beautiful smiles, her eyes twinkling and the night lights surrounding the pool making her glow.

Completely mesmerised by her, Dalton couldn't help but lean down and kiss her. He felt Jaz's immediate acceptance of the kiss and placed a hand on the back of her head to hold her close.

They kissed each other slowly and deeply as Dalton walked them back to the shallow end of the pool.

Jaz's hands gripped his shoulders tightly and she tilted her head to deepen the kiss even further. Before their time at the cabin, she had always imagined that Adam would be a great kisser, but he was indescribable. No words could explain the effect he had on her, and his lips took her to places she had never imagined.

Backing her up against the wall of the pool, Dalton continued to kiss Jaz like his life depended on it.

They had long forgotten they were in Preach's backyard, their senses completely taken over by their need for each other.

Pulling back briefly for air, they couldn't take their eyes off each other.

"So much for cooling down." Dalton breathed, and pressed his whole body against the length of hers.

"What was I thinking?" Jaz mumbled before pulling his head back down towards hers to re-join their lips.

Flush against each other from chest to toes, their hands moved all over each other, still entirely lost in their feelings for each other.

Despite the water surrounding them, they could feel each other trembling. Dalton pressed himself even harder against Jaz, so she had no alternative but to press back; immediately peaking their desire even higher.

They started to move against one another, searching for a cure to the ache that resided in both of them. Dalton ground into her, using the wall of the pool as leverage. She moaned into his mouth, not in pain, but in ecstasy.

Needing more, she lifted and wrapped her legs around his waist to hold him even tighter against her. She felt him thrust even harder against her, feeling his hard length rub right against her clit, right where she needed him.

Pulling away from his lips to press her hot lips up and down the length of his neck, she thrust back against him, causing him to throw his head up in bliss. The trail of her lips on his neck settled on his pulse point and as she lingered there at the same time as their hips were colliding, he couldn't help but moan out loud. She quickly vanquished it by bringing her lips back to his, swallowing the sound before they were too loud.

With their lips back together, they continued to move against each other, feeling their movements becoming faster and more urgent.

What Dalton wouldn't give to be able to just slip inside of her and feel Jaz's entire warmth surround him. This wasn't the place but he was too far gone with what they were doing now to stop.

He moved even faster against her, holding her as close as he could, feeling her breasts flattened against his chest. Jaz dug her heels into his ass to hold him as close as she possibly could while her hips moved fast against his.

They both knew they were close to the bliss they craved. With their lips devouring each other's and drowning out their groans, they didn't move them from each other as they undulated their way to their release.

Dalton's cock was rock hard and only Jaz and her body could relieve that. The pressure on Jaz's clit was almost too much to bare and she ground herself against the man she craved, ensuring they came at the same time.

They trembled and shuddered against each other as their bodies gave in to their release. Their lips swallowed each other's cries and their hands gripped each other to stop themselves from collapsing as they rode out this bliss together.

Neither of them had ever been with anyone else capable of making them feel this way.

Eventually they pulled back from their kiss, their breathing slowing to a normal rate and their shudders all but gone.

Dalton looked at Jaz. He brushed a few stray hairs back off her face and cupped his face in his hands, his thumbs caressing her cheeks.

"What do you do to me, Jaz?" He asked softly in wonderment.

Looking back up into his eyes, seeing something there that she couldn't define, but knowing it was also reflecting back in her own, she just placed her hands on his own cheeks.

"The same thing that you do to me." She whispered back, barely audible, but entirely true.

Holding each other's faces and staring into each other's eyes, they soaked up every second of their closeness and every second of whatever this feeling was.

Placing their foreheads together, their lips found their way back to each other in a kiss that could only be described as intimate. Slow, lingering and full of so much meaning that their hearts were both pounding in their chests.

* * *

They made their way to their bedroom not long after and took a quick shower to rinse the chlorine off.

They took it in turns to wash each other's body and couldn't help but steal a few kisses while doing so. They were both satiated from their encounter in the pool, but keeping their hands completely to themselves was impossible.

They stood under the warm stream of water, and just looked at each other. Jaz rested both her hands on his chest and he gripped them with his own.

Despite the shots of tequila, they were both completed sober now and still caught up in the way they made each other feel, like nothing or no one else had ever done so before.

When they had dried off and climbed into bed, they did nothing else but hold each other tight. Dalton pulled her body right up next to his and she wrapped her arms around him and intertwined her legs with his.

He kissed her forehead softly as he felt her relax completely and drift off to sleep.

Staring into the darkness, wrapped around Jaz, he knew there was no way he could be away from her for who knows how long while she was in DC. The two days without her had been bad enough, this could be a lot longer.

He was totally blindsided by the urgent need to just be with her, right next to her, by her side. But as he mulled that thought over in his head, he realised there was an option available to him, there was a way for him to not be separated from her.

He held her even closer as he felt himself drifting off to sleep. He had never slept so soundly as when he had Jaz right there next to him.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! We finish up the school year in December in Australia (since our summer is Dec, Jan, Feb), so being a teacher, the next three weeks is crazy busy for me. I'll try and update when I can, but if I slow down a bit, once the holidays kick in I will be updating regularly as usual.**

 **Thank you to all you precious people who continue to read, and as always, a special shout out to those who comment/review. It is greatly appreciated! XXX**


	27. Chapter 27

**Here's the next chapter for you all. Thanks for all your lovely comments, hope you enjoy this!**

 **I do not own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 27**

Jaz woke up super early on that last full day at Preach's. Thankful that she seemed to be headache free after all of last night's tequila, she lay there in bed and enjoyed the warmth of Adam wrapped around her.

He was lying spooned behind her, his arm draped around her waist holding her close to him. She could tell by the steady rhythm of his breathing and his breath on the back of her neck that he was still asleep. She took advantage of this and rolled over as slowly and as smoothly as she could, hoping not to wake him up.

Other than tightening his arms around her, he didn't stir and she took this opportunity to just look at him.

His face was soft in slumber and he looked peaceful and at ease. It was exactly the way she felt when she slept next to him.

She didn't often get the opportunity to watch him sleep. On base, he was often the first one up and it was rare that he slept on a mission. Besides that, most of them would wake at the drop of a hat due to their training to always be on alert.

It said something that he was still sleeping while she was awake. The level of comfort they had around each other made Jaz feel like she belonged, actually belonged to something and someone.

Being with this team was the first time Jaz had ever felt like she had a family, but being with Adam like this was the first time she had ever felt like she had a person. Her person.

She didn't want to be separated from him again tomorrow. She knew they were going to talk about it today and she knew how important it was for her to see Xander Martin, but she still felt some sadness at being away from him again.

Leaning forward she pressed her lips softly to his chest, before snuggling in closer to him. She was going to enjoy every minute of her time with him, she didn't know when they would be together again after tomorrow. Laying a hand on his chest, she breathed in his masculine scent and drifted back off to sleep.

* * *

The last full day at Preach's was spent just enjoying each other's company. They had plans to go out for dinner all together that night and Preach had a rehab appointment, but other than that they laid low.

McG was nursing a hangover, and as usual he wasn't afraid to admit that. He hadn't needed the bucket that Amir had placed beside his bed, but he still felt like crap. Him and his big ideas.

Dalton asked him if he could go with them both to Preach's afternoon rehab appointment. He wanted to chat to McG about something, and he was of course genuinely interested to see how Preach's rehab was going.

McG was glad the appointment wasn't until the early afternoon, it gave him time to get over last night's tequila.

When they arrived at the rehab facility, Preach introduced Dalton to his doctor and physio. Dalton had a quick chat with them and they filled him in on Preach's progress. When they were done he thanked them for helping with Preach's recovery and went and sat down with McG, where they observed Preach going through his strengthening exercises.

It looked like Preach was definitely in good hands and both McG and Dalton were happy with his progress, but even more happy to see their team mate getting back to his old self.

The vision of Preach laying in his coma, attached to more machines that they could count is something they would never forget.

After a while, Dalton turned to McG to tackle the second reason he had wanted to come on this visit.

"Hey, can I ask you a favour?" Dalton queried McG.

"Ask away."

"You think you could get me an appointment with Xander this week?"

McG looked at him knowingly, "I thought you'd never ask."

Dalton huffed out a laugh, "Yeah, I know I was slow coming to the party, but better late than never right?"

McG smiled, before asking seriously, "You know I have to ask, in my medic capacity… you're doing this for the right reasons, right?"

Dalton respected McG's question and took no offence. In fact, he admired him for asking the question, it was what he would expect from a member of his team.

"If Jaz and I are going to figure out a way to make this work, it needs to start at the ground level. She has her stuff she needs to work through, but I have mine too. I want to do this for her, but also for myself. I know that the demons won't leave me alone unless I get some help."

McG nodded at his captain, "Good answer. One more thing though – You do realise that in DC we are going to be seeing the Deputy Director. She knows that Jaz and I are meeting with Xander, I'll have to fill her in on you being in DC too."

"I'm aware. It's ok. We might need a temporary plan, but we'll figure it out."

"Ok, if you're sure, leave it with me. I'll make a call when we get back to Preach's."

"Thanks buddy, I really appreciate it."

"No problem, Top. Anything for Team Jalton." He smirked.

"Oh geez, not you too." But he couldn't help but chuckle.

* * *

Back at Preach's house, Amir and Jaz had decided to bake brownies for Preach's wife and daughters to thank them for letting them have free range of their house this weekend.

They had made a double batch in anticipation of McG's stomach and had hidden one of the batches away. Luckily so, because sure enough when he, Dalton and Preach returned from rehab, and he followed the scent to the kitchen, he looked at those brownies like it was Christmas.

Amir and Jaz just looked at each other and smiled while shaking their heads. McG was so predictable, but they wouldn't have it any other way.

Preach headed upstairs for a quick nap before their dinner later this evening, while the other four went out by the pool, soaking up some sun and just enjoying this low key time together.

They all found themselves in the pool, cooling down from the heat and enjoying the luxuries they had access to while on leave. McG had brought them all some drinks outside, before announcing his bomb into the pool.

"Look out kids!" He exclaimed as he ran up and let himself fly into the pool.

Of course someone of McG's stature was going to make a big splash and he found himself on the receiving end of similar splashes as he surfaced from his entrance into the pool.

"Hey, three on one isn't fair." He cried as the water assault didn't let up, but upon hearing his phone ringing, he hopped out as quickly as he could.

"Saved by the bell, as usual." Amir remarked, before feeling a splash of water to the back of his head.

Turning around he saw Jaz, with a big grin on her face, splashing water at both Dalton and himself.

"Really Jaz? Two on one?" Amir asked as he splashed back.

What followed was a huge water fight, water flying everywhere and all three of them laughing uncontrollably.

Dalton called out, "Amir, cover me."

As Dalton made his way behind Jaz, Amir increased his splashing intensity to try and hide Dalton's approach.

With so much water being launched onto her face, Jaz missed Dalton's sneak attack and before she knew it, she had been picked up around the waist and thrown back in the water.

Coming up spluttering, but still laughing, she set her full efforts towards Dalton as payback. She approached him with water flying everywhere but as she got close enough he managed to grab both of her wrists and wrangle them behind her back even as she squirmed. They were face to face and both drenched.

Jaz was still laughing her deep throaty laugh, a cheeky spark in her eyes and her face taken over by her beautiful smile. She was too much to resist. With a similar smile on his face, Dalton leant down to kiss her, capturing her lips with his, swallowing her laugh and feeling the water that was running down both of their faces, merging together.

Seeing Jaz and Dalton like this, enjoying each other and so uninhibited with each other, Amir made a quick exit from the pool. He just raised his eyebrows at them as he grabbed a towel to dry off, but it was great to see them both like this. He'd never seen both of them look so relaxed and having so much fun.

Pulling back from the kiss, Jaz tried to wrench her hands free. When she managed to do so, Dalton was expecting a return attack, but she surprised him by placing them on his shoulders and tilting her head back up, joining her lips back to his.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, Dalton kissed her back, both still smiling into each other's mouth and holding each other close.

All of a sudden they pulled back from each other, remembering Amir was there with them. Looking for him in the pool, but seeing that he had hopped out, they both turned to face him with slightly embarrassed looks on their faces. They had made that pact not to show too much PDA in front of the team, but they had been caught up in the moment and completely forgot.

"Sorry Amir." Dalton called to him, putting his hand up in the air in acknowledgement.

Amir just shrugged and smirked, "Who am I to get in the way of Jalton?"

"Oh geez." Dalton responded, rolling his eyes.

"Jalton? That's our ship name?" Jaz asked him incredulously.

Dalton looked at her, eye brows raised, "You know what a ship name is?"

"Of course I do, get with the times." With that, she walked past him to climb out of the steps of the pool.

Grabbing her hand as she walked past so that she stopped momentarily he just looked at her, deep into her eyes, trying to convey how much he enjoyed spending this time with her, like this.

She smiled at him once again, cheeks slightly pink and looking up at him through her long lashes, before she kept walking, keeping hold of his hand until she was out of reach. After grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself she went inside to go and shower and get ready before dinner.

McG came back out just after Jaz had left, "What did I miss?"

"Jaz and Top's make out session." Amir answered dryly.

"What? Gross." McG made a face.

"Ok, ok, I said I was sorry."

"I know, but it's fun to tease." Amir chuckled at the look on Dalton's face, before he excused himself to also shower and get ready for dinner.

McG came and sat down next to Dalton and smiled at him, "DC's all sorted man. Xander will see you on Wednesday afternoon and I got you on the same flight out as me and Jaz."

Dalton looked at him, surprised that he had managed to get that sorted out so quickly. He didn't know what to do other than smile gratefully at McG. He's not sure McG knew how much this meant to him.

"Thanks buddy, I owe you one."

"I'm pretty sure I owed you quite a few, but I'll happily bank this one away." McG teased and they both chuckled.

Looking slightly more serious again, McG continued, "I also got you a room at the hotel where Jaz and I are staying. Your own room though. Didn't want to raise any flags with the higher ups."

"Yeah, good thinking." Dalton agreed with him because he hadn't quite figured out the next part yet. But being in DC where Patricia, Noah and Hannah all lived and worked, they needed to be careful to still keep this under wraps for now.

"Does Jaz know yet?" McG asked curiously.

"Not yet. I didn't want to tell her unless it was definite. I'll tell her later though, I hope she doesn't mind."

McG scoffed, "Pretty sure she's gonna be fucking ecstatic, Top. Or as ecstatic as Jaz allows herself to get."

Dalton sure hoped so. He didn't want to get in the way of the help that Jaz was seeking, especially since it had taken her a while to get to the realisation that she needed the help. He would never want to hinder that.

Having said that, he also knew that he needed the help he was seeking also, and he was pretty sure that Xander was the only person he would want to reveal some of it to. He was comfortable with Xander and had been appreciative of the help and guidance he had received from him in the past. It was the reason he had asked Xander to check in on Jaz when they had returned from Tehran.

Most of all though, he was happy that he and Jaz weren't going their separate ways tomorrow. He just hoped Jaz would feel the same way.

* * *

Despite being the first to go and get ready for dinner, Jaz was the last to finish up. In her defence she had a lot of hair to dry, it took an industrial strength hair dryer, and since they were going out, she thought she would make the effort.

Walking into the kitchen to where the four guys stood chatting around the kitchen bench, she stopped and just watched them momentarily.

She still had these moments, even after three years of working with this team, of being stunned that she worked with such great guys. All four of them were lethal, the things they could do with their bare hands wouldn't bare thinking about for most people, but it was these moments, when they were relaxed and laughing that she valued them the most.

She hadn't had a great track record with men in her life prior to meeting these guys, and Elijah of course. But these guys more than made up for every other man she had ever come across, in both their work life and their private life. Even though she didn't need protecting, being lethal herself, she still felt an air of security and reassurance whenever she was around them. Like she had never felt with anyone before. Anyone in her entire life.

Besides that, have you seen these four? All of them are handsome in their own way, none more so than Adam in Jaz's eyes, but she did appreciate the other three also, and knew they were a sight to behold whenever they went anywhere together.

Catching Adam's gaze as she started to walk towards them, she saw him smile at her and she melted. She still had to pinch herself that a guy like Adam Dalton would want to be with her, and she knew that no matter how long they would be apart for from tomorrow, there was no way she would be leaving things the way she had when she left the cabin.

* * *

Preach took them all to a restaurant right near the beach. It had a big open air balcony overlooking the ocean, fairy lights draped around the banisters and a cocktail menu that had McG excited.

They were seated at a table on the balcony and quickly ordered a drink to start them all off. Listening to the waves crashing on the shore, they perused the menu before their drinks arrived, and once they did, Preach proposed a toast.

"To great friends and team mates. Thank you for coming to SoCal to spend the weekend with this old man."

"Hey, less of the old talk. I expect to see you back out there with us in a few months." Dalton added as they all chinked their glasses together.

"Yes sir." Preach smiled, appreciating the faith that Dalton had in him.

"So, where to from here?" Preach asked them all.

"Back to DC for me." Amir answered.

"Back to Hannah you mean." Jaz quipped teasingly, before asking him, "Hey are you on the same flight as me and McG?"

"Unfortunately, I think I am."

"Good luck with that," Preach sympathised with Amir before turning to Dalton, "What about you, Top?"

Without missing a beat, Dalton answered, "Back to the mountains for me."

Preach just nodded, not missing the tiny glance downward of Jaz's eyes before quickly smiling with the rest of them.

McG also saw it and knowing what he did about Dalton's plans, he quickly changed the topic, "So I assume you're all going to come and visit me in Montana at some stage?"

"I'll see if I can fit it in." Dalton teased, but smiled knowingly at McG, appreciative of the change of topic for now. He didn't like lying to his team, and even though it was just until he had told Jaz, he still wasn't all that comfortable with it.

Their meals arrived soon after and they continued to chat, drink cocktails and enjoy each other's company.

* * *

After they finished up with dinner, they moved further down the balcony to the bar area. They pulled up some bar stools and settled themselves there for a couple more drinks.

Before she sat down, Dalton grabbed Jaz's elbow, "Hey, come for a quick walk on the beach with me?"

"Sure." Jaz replied, a little taken aback. As they wandered down the staircase that led to the beach, McG smiled knowingly after them.

When they had reached the soft sand, Dalton stopped and turned to face Jaz and started by saying, "I know we said we'd talk about what happens from here on out today, but we haven't really had a chance yet and I wanted to before all the alcohol sets in."

Jaz smiled at him, "It's ok, I'm not going to run off this time." Jaz said gently.

When Dalton just looked at her she said a little nervously, "I've been thinking about it a lot, and if you're still feeling the same way, after I'm done in DC, maybe I could re-join you at the cabin, or wherever you're going to be."

Dalton let a glimmer of a smile pass over his face. He was pleased to hear that she had thought about it and was really happy that she hadn't assumed the worst. He couldn't handle parting like they had last time.

"Umm, yeah… that sounds great, but uh…"

There was a small part of Jaz that heard the hesitation in his voice and immediately broke a little, immediately lowered her eyes and immediately assumed the worst. She quickly tried to brace herself, until she heard the rest of what he had to say.

"… I thought that I would come to DC with you." Dalton finished up, looking at her and scanning her face for a response.

Shock. That was the first thing he saw on her face.

She looked back up at him for a moment before clarifying with him, "What, you're coming with me?"

"Um, yeah. If that's ok."

When she didn't answer, he kept talking, "I wanted to be there for you. I know it's not going to be easy and I don't want you to go through it alone. Also, McG got me my own appointment with Xander. I know that I have a lot to talk through as well."

When she just kept on staring at him and still didn't answer he started to second guess himself. Maybe she didn't want him with her in DC.

"If it's not a good idea, I can –"

He was cut off abruptly by Jaz's hands on his face and her lips on his.

She had launched herself at him to stop him talking and it was the only response she had for him right then. She kissed him for a long moment and felt him bring his arms up to grab her waist.

Pulling back to look into his eyes, she could see his confusion.

"Jaz, I'm not sure…" He drifted off, a little unsure of her thoughts.

She smiled gently at him, "You're really coming with me?" She asked softly.

Relief flooded all through Adam. He had honestly thought she didn't want him with her for a second.

He smiled softly back at her, "Yeah."

She stepped even closer, pressed herself against him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him once again. This time he wrapped his arms around and held her as close as he could. They kissed softly and gently and felt the other's heart pounding in their respective chest.

"So it's ok?" Adam asked into her lips, enjoying the feel of them too much to pull back completely just yet.

"It's more than ok." She answered into his lips, following up with a few more kisses before pulling back.

"How long have you known?" Jaz was curious.

"I only confirmed it today. McG managed to secure an appointment, flight and hotel room for me, but I've been thinking of a way to avoid a goodbye since we came to Preach's."

Jaz felt a rush of something she couldn't identify flood her whole body, but she knew it made her feel warm and safe and she liked it a lot.

"McG made this happen?"

Adam just nodded.

"Thank you." She whispered to him.

He held her close, "I was serious when I said that I want to be with you, Jaz. We'll figure this stuff out as we go."

Once again she had no words, so she just pressed her lips to his and held him tight. He held her just as tightly, feeling like another little bridge had been crossed in their relationship.

Pulling back, she grabbed his hand, "Come on, we should get back before McG drinks all the cocktails."

Both of them were extremely happy as they walked back to the restaurant hand in hand and the relief that Jaz felt at not having to say goodbye to Adam tomorrow was palpable.

As they walked back to where the others were seated, Jaz walked around to sit on the stool next to McG. She put her arm around his shoulders and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

"Thank you." She whispered to him.

He smiled in understanding, "Anything for you Jazzy."

"Well in that case, I'll have another mojito."

They all laughed. McG had filled Amir and Preach in on what Dalton was talking to Jaz about, and it was clear that it had gone down well.

As they all ordered more drinks, Preach caught Dalton's eye and gave him a smile. Dalton knew it was one of approval and he just smiled and nodded to Preach in response.

Preach was just happy that these two were finally sorting themselves out. It had been a long time coming, but he knew better than anyone that they needed to seize the day.

* * *

Jaz and Dalton lay in bed together that night, talking about going to DC tomorrow. Dalton had explained to Jaz that he had been thinking about talking to someone about his own demons and his own nightmares for a little while. Seeing Jaz make the commitment to seek help was his turning point and Jaz was comforted to know that he wanted that assistance too.

Dalton also explained to Jaz that they had separate hotel rooms, but she understood that. Their plight was tricky, and being in DC they would be surrounded by higher ups and lots of prying eyes who would jump all over them if they caught wind of their situation.

Wriggling herself closer to him, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I don't mind what the hotel situation is, I'm just glad you'll be there."

Dalton put his hand on her cheek and tilted her head towards him to look into her eyes, "Me too," he said softly before leaning over to kiss her.

She placed her hand on his neck to hold him close to her and kissed him back. Tilting her head to deepen it, she rolled herself onto her back, pulling him with her so he lay on top of her. Loving the feel of him on top of her, she slipped her tongue into his mouth and put all the emotion she had felt since his revelation, into this kiss. She had never felt this way about someone before, not even close, and the feelings inside of her just kept growing and growing.

"God Jaz, I want to make love to you so badly." Dalton breathed into her mouth.

"Me too." She breathed equally as desperately, even though they both knew they still weren't going to do so in Preach's house.

Instead they continued to kiss each other and touch each other long into the night. Their need for each other just continued to grow and these feelings of theirs, were only getting stronger.

* * *

 **Ok, so in the next chapter the team leave Preach's and make their way to DC. That should be fun and games!**

 **Thank you as always to you wonderful people who continue to read this story, and a special thanks to those who comment/review. I really appreciate it and it really motivates me.**

 **I must apologise if I don't post the next chapter as soon as usual. Work is chaotic at the moment, but in two weeks time, it's summer holidays... Bring it on!**

 **What did you think of this chapter? Are you as happy as I am that Dalton is going to DC with Jaz? XXX**


	28. Chapter 28

**Hi everyone! This chapter took a bit longer for me to get up, but it's that time of year and the silly season left me stupidly busy, as I'm sure many of you are the same. As always, thank you for reading and commenting. You are all the best! Hope you enjoy :)**

 **I don't own The Brave or its characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 28**

The next morning, they were all up early as they needed to be at the airport by 9am.

Surprisingly, Jaz was the first one up and put the coffee on just as Preach joined her in the kitchen.

"Smoothie?" He asked her as he started to make his own.

"No thanks, I'll just stick to caffeine for now." Jaz responded, the tiredness still evident in her voice.

"How you sleeping, Jaz?" Preach asked in his easy and caring way.

Jaz was quiet for a moment and hitched herself up to sit on the kitchen bench, "It's varied. I'm fine when I'm with…" She trailed off, a little embarrassed.

"With Top?"

She just nodded in response.

"But I'm guessing not so great when you're alone?"

She nodded again in response.

"I'm proud of you for seeking help. There's no shame in it, we've all done it at some stage." He tried to put her at ease, "And you know how happy I am that you and Top are giving yourselves a chance."

Jaz looked up and smirked, "All your hints finally got across huh?"

Preach laughed, "I was beginning to wonder if they were getting across at all."

"Trust me, they did. I just don't think we saw it then." Jaz muttered.

"It's the obvious that's sometimes difficult to see." Preach said while smiling.

They both looked up as Dalton walked into the kitchen, "Preach, are you preaching again?" He asked, walking over to the coffee pot to pour himself a mug, then standing next to where Jaz was sitting on the bench.

"Just telling Jaz here all of your bad habits." Preached joked.

"I don't have any bad habits." Dalton defended himself, to which Preach and Jaz both laughed out loud.

As Dalton just looked at them baffled, Amir and McG joined them in the kitchen, seeking coffee.

"What's all the excitement about?" McG asked, prancing about topless like usual.

"Nothing. I'm hitting the shower." Jaz announced as she hopped down from her perch on the kitchen bench, taking her mug of coffee with her.

Preach watched Dalton, whose eyes followed her until she disappeared from view. He smiled to himself and thought how glad he was that these two had finally given in to what had been brewing between them for years. Now if only he could assure them that it would be an easy road from here on out, but he knew they still had a lot of obstacles to hurdle. He hoped like hell it all worked out for them.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Preach dropped all four of them off at the airport and said his goodbyes.

Dalton left him with a last few instructions about Patton, who would be staying with Preach's family while they were in DC.

They were going to try and meet up again at some stage, possibly in Montana, but it was still up in the air at the moment. The four who were leaving were just thankful that they had spent time with Preach and that he was definitely on the mend.

While they were all sitting at the gate waiting to board their plane, Dalton's phone rang and seeing the caller ID on his phone, he stepped away from the group to answer it.

"Deputy Director Campbell."

"Hi Adam."

"Good to hear from you." Dalton replied, trying to keep the surprise out of his voice.

"Likewise. McGuire told me you were going to be in DC as of this afternoon."

"That's right, I have a meeting with Captain Harris tomorrow."

"That's good to hear, and I understand that Jaz also has an appointment with Captain Harris."

"She does."

"That's also good to hear. I was wondering if you could drop by my office at some stage this afternoon? I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Uh, yeah. I'll come straight from the airport, it's on the way to the hotel anyway."

"Great, I'll send a car for you. See you then and safe flight."

"Thanks Patricia."

When he hung up the phone he frowned a little and took a moment to wonder what Patricia needed to talk to him about. Realistically it could be any number of things, but he'd by lying if he said he wasn't worried that she had somehow caught wind of him and Jaz. It wouldn't surprise him, she had eyes and ears everywhere.

Shaking himself out of his daze, he told himself not to panic, he's sure it wasn't about Jaz at all.

Walking back to re-join the others, Amir glanced up, "Everything ok, Top?" He asked.

"Yeah, that was Patricia. I'm going to see her straight from the airport so I'll meet you guys at the hotel a little bit later."

McG and Amir just nodded, but Dalton didn't miss the look of apprehension in Jaz's eyes. He sat down next to her and didn't say anything directly to her, but he pressed his thigh right up against hers and he felt her press back in return. It was a small comfort to both of them, but Dalton still wanted to talk to McG and Amir.

"Listen, I don't want to put you guys in any difficult situations, and I would never ask you to lie for me…"

"For us…" Jaz interrupted.

A ghost of a smile crossed his face before turning serious again, "Right. So if at any stage this gets difficult, please talk to me, to us. I understand."

"We both understand." Jaz reiterated.

"If what gets difficult, Top?" McG asked, looking nonchalant.

Amir shrugged his shoulders, "Top, we lie for a living. We're spies. I know we don't lie to each other, but we've got this. You won't have anything to worry about from us."

"Amir, I understand your situation with Hannah also…" Dalton said gently.

"No need to worry about that," Amir stopped him, "Your situation is completely different. I haven't said a word to Hannah. It's not my place to, or my business."

Dalton let a glimmer of a smile cross his face, appreciating the support. He wasn't entirely comfortable with potentially putting his team in a problematic situation, but the support they were giving him and Jaz was amazing.

He felt Jaz place her hand on his knee and he grasped it with his own. He was worried about Jaz too. They wanted to be together, but the intricacies of this situation hadn't escaped him, hadn't escaped either of them. If this all went sideways, he didn't want Jaz getting caught in the crossfire. Her career would be at stake and that is the last thing he would want.

They were making this up as they went along, and he hoped like hell they somehow found a way to make it work.

* * *

Dalton and Jaz were seated together on the plane and McG and Amir were a few rows in front of them. It was going to be quite a long flight, so they were glad that they could spend this time together, relatively alone.

"You ok?" Jaz asked him, looking at him out the corner of her eye, noticing he had been quiet since they had taken their seats.

"Yeah, all good." He answered her as he turned to face her.

Jaz huffed out a laugh, "Liar."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He challenged her quietly.

Jaz looked at him knowingly, "You're worried about seeing the Deputy Director."

"I'm not worried, per se…" He defended himself, "I'm just curious as to what she wants to see me about."

Jaz nodded her head slowly, "It could be any number of things, right?"

Dalton nodded his head in agreement, "Right."

Jaz chuckled quietly to herself, in a small amount of disbelief.

He couldn't help but smile at the look on her face, her beautiful face, but had to ask her, "What's funny?"

"It's just, you're usually the confident one. Always telling the rest of us that it's going to be great."

Dalton couldn't help but chuckle at that, before Jaz continued.

"Now you've got to believe that yourself."

Dalton's face softened and he leaned over to grasp her hand, "You're right."

"Huh, who would've thought?" Jaz huffed.

He brought her hand up to his lips, still entwined with his, and kissed it softly. He _was_ curious about what Patricia wanted to talk to him about, and he was trying not to worry that it was about Jaz. She was right though, it could be for an endless amount of reasons, so for now he was going to enjoy this quiet time before they hit DC, which reminded him of one other thing he needed to discuss with Jaz.

With her hand still in his, he held it against his chest, twisting his fingers around hers before broaching the subject.

"Listen, Jaz. When we're in DC… I think – I think we might have to, umm…"

"Lay low?" She finished off for him.

He looked at her, relieved that she seemed to be on the same page as him.

"It's ok, I figured as much. There are eyes and ears everywhere in DC." She shrugged matter of factly.

"Yes there is." He agreed with her, hoping they could still spend _some_ time together.

In all honestly, what he wanted the most was for Jaz to get the help she needed. He didn't want to hinder that for her in any way. He just wanted her to be able to sleep through the night and get through her days without guilt, remorse, pain and hurt.

He wanted that for himself too. He wanted it for _them_.

They landed right on time and before they disembarked from the plane, Dalton and Jaz had one last private moment to themselves prior to entering the whirlwind that is DC.

As the plane taxied towards their gate, they both leaned their heads back against the head rest and took a deep breath, as if accepting their fate to be inconspicuous for however long they were in DC.

They rolled their heads towards each other and smiled wryly at each other.

"We got this." Dalton said softly.

"Hell yeah."

Dalton leaned over and captured her lips with his. He lingered on her lips, kissing them over and over again, tasting her as deeply as was socially acceptable on a full flight. She was intoxicating and he would kiss her all day if he could. He reached his hand up to cup her cheek, caressing his thumb against her cheek and she kissed him back just as passionately.

Eventually pulling away from each other, both their eyes were glazed over and they were both catching their breaths. They rested their foreheads against each other and just breathed each other in.

They had this.

* * *

The car that Patricia had sent for Dalton was already waiting by the curb. With a wave to the guys and a lingering smile at Jaz, he was whisked away while the others got a cab to the hotel.

They were staying at the same hotel they had been when they first got back from their deployment, which was a fairly central location in DC, close to the DIA and close to restaurants and bars. Since they didn't know how long they would be staying yet, they were happy with the location, since they would be able to walk to most venues.

McG had taken care of the reservations so he checked the three of them in, and after he had a bit of a chat with reception, they escaped to their rooms to unpack. Amir was also staying at the hotel, well technically anyway. The others had no doubt that he would be spending some nights at Hannah's.

An hour later they were downstairs in the hotel bar having a drink and just relaxing. They'd text Preach to let him know they had arrived and were waiting to hear from Dalton.

McG noticed that Jaz was even quieter than usual and thought it was time for big brother McG to swoop in.

"You all good, Jazzy?"

"Sure, except for the company." She said dryly, but with false bravado.

McG knew she was trying to cover up her worry about Dalton's meeting with Patricia, but he didn't want to harp on it. They could deal with it when Dalton arrived. Instead he went and did what he thought every good mate would do, and brought himself and Jaz a shot of tequila.

"Really?" Jaz exclaimed when he set it down in front of her.

"It'll help you relax a little, right Amir?" He looked at Amir for back up.

Looking apologetically at Jaz, Amir answered, "For once, I actually agree with him on this."

"I hope you recorded that. Ok, cheers to Amir probably getting laid tonight."

Jaz couldn't help but burst out laughing at McG's statement and the look Amir gave him in response. These two were fucking hilarious and they certainly managed to take Jaz's mind off of Dalton and Patricia.

With the tequila taken care of, Jaz asked Amir, "So are you seeing Hannah tonight?"

Amir couldn't help but smile, "Probably after dinner, depending on her work."

"Told you so." McG couldn't help but add with a smirk on his face.

* * *

When Dalton arrived at the DIA, he was ushered straight into Patricia's office, where she joined him a few minutes later.

"Adam, good to see you." She greeted him with a smile on her face, as he stood up from the chair he had been sitting in.

Like her son, she knew Adam was a gentleman at heart, and it always made her smile that despite what he had seen and lived through in his military life, that part of him never changes.

"Likewise." He returned her greeting and waited for her to sit down before taking his seat once again.

"So… fill me in." Patricia urged him.

In that split second, Dalton wondered what the hell she wanted him to fill her in on. Surely it couldn't be about Jaz. They had literally only sorted themselves out a few days ago, it couldn't have been made public… right?!

"On Preach… how's his recovery going?" She prompted him.

Dalton took a massive breath internally and hoped like hell there wasn't a shred of the relief he was feeling, showing on his face. He usually had a great poker face, but Patricia was a pro, not much gets past her.

He spent the next few minutes filling the Deputy Director in on Preach's progress and his conversations with his doctor's, physio's and McG from when he had attended the rehab session.

She seemed pleased, as like the rest of them, she had been extremely worried about Preach, especially considering he had sustained his injuries saving her life. She had spoken to Preach herself, quite regularly, but wanted Dalton's objective opinion. She had wanted to get out and visit him herself at some stage, and still hoped to do so when she had a spare minute. They were a special team and she would do whatever it took to take care of them.

"And Jaz, how is she?" Patricia asked him, looking right into his eyes.

There came that massive internal deep breath again and some quick thinking before he answered her, "She's still having quite a lot of nightmares, apparently. Thankfully McGuire managed to convince her to seek some help. As you know, she spoke to Captain Harris in Incirlik and felt comfortable enough to talk to him again here in DC."

Patricia held his gaze a long moment, before nodding her head, "That's good to hear. She went through a lot."

"Yeah, she did."

"And yourself, are you ok?"

One last internal deep breath, "Well as you know, I'm here to see Captain Harris also. You could say that I need to exorcise some demons too," he grimaced as he said so.

Patricia smiled slightly at that, "Don't we all?"

"Copy that." Dalton returned with a similar smile.

"Ok, I'm glad to hear everything is on track for now. Keep me updated if anything arises that I should know about. Sgt McGuire has been great at keeping me updated on medical matters."

"Will do." He said evenly, even though the relief he was feeling was palpable.

"Now, while you're here, I need to run a few things by you for the next deployment and I need a few signatures on some paperwork. Have you got time?"

"Yeah, whatever you need."

He would do whatever was needed; whatever made him feel like he wasn't hiding a massive secret from his boss.

He managed to get out of there just over an hour later and before walking to the hotel, he text Jaz to let her know he was on his way.

 _ **Just leaving, where are you guys?**_ – Top

 _ **In the bar at the hotel, meet us here?**_ – Jaz

 _ **Sounds good, I'll check in, dump my stuff and see you there**_ – Top

 _ **:)**_ – Jaz

Dalton smiled at his phone while he walked to the hotel. It had been just a couple of hours and he already missed Jaz.

* * *

"Top, over here." McG called out with his hand in the air, as he saw Dalton enter the bar and look around for them.

"Tequila already?" Dalton asked noticing the empty shot glasses on the table.

He slid into the booth next to Jaz and immediately sat so his thigh was pressed against hers. She turned to look in his eyes and what she saw in them made her smile. Clearly what they had been worried about, hadn't come to fruition and when he smiled back at her, those eyes that made her insides melt, looked clear and light.

"Depending on what the Deputy Director wanted, may determine if we need anymore…" McG lingered, hoping that Dalton would spill his guts.

Dalton chuckled, "She just wanted to check on Preach, chat about our next deployment and get me to sign a bunch of paperwork."

"Nothing to worry about." Amir observed.

"Nothing to worry about." Dalton echoed.

"I'll get us some more drinks." Amir said, standing up and walking to the bar.

McG looked from Dalton to Jaz, and back again, "I'm going to, uh – hit the bathroom."

Jaz and Dalton laughed to themselves, these two were as subtle as ever.

"So everything's really ok?" Jaz asked, just wanting one more confirmation.

Dalton reached his hand under the table to lace his fingers with hers. He felt her hold onto his hand tightly as she looked up at him with those beautiful brown eyes.

"Never in doubt, didn't even need to lie." He teased.

Jaz rolled her eyes mildly, thankful that they lived another day. They weren't making light of the situation because it was complicated and problematic. They were going to have to be super careful here in DC, but she was willing to do that. Just having Adam close by was enough for her for now.

Squeezing his hand again, enjoying the warmth for a few more seconds, she pulled her hand away from his and after exchanging wry smiles, they both placed their hands above the table as Amir approached with their drinks.

* * *

Dinner at the hotel was their usual affair. Joking, laughing and giving each other shit. All that came with being a beloved member of Special Operations Group 7.

No one went hard on the alcohol. Jaz had her appointment with Xander at 10am the next morning and she wanted to be clear headed for that. McG was going to accompany her to the appointment, so he also took it easy. They had stuck with just the one tequila shot for the evening.

After a couple of hours, Jaz turned to the others, "Ok, I think I'm going to call it a night."

Dalton shuffled out of the booth, to let her get out. As she stood up, she very gently brushed her hand against is and he smiled at her as he met her eyes.

"Want me to walk you to your room?"

"Nah it's ok, you stay with the guys a bit longer. Text me later though?" Jaz said quietly.

"Definitely."

"Bye guys." Jaz directed to McG and Amir, before leaving the bar and heading towards the elevator.

Out of habit, Dalton watched her until the doors closed behind her, before turning back to the guys and continuing their conversation.

Amir was next to leave, heading over to meet Hannah at the DIA. As he left, McG just nodded knowingly at him with a big grin on his face, causing Amir to just roll his eyes in response.

"Alright Top, I'm gonna run out to the store on the corner and get a couple of supplies before hitting the sack. You need anything?" McG asked Dalton.

"Nah man, I'm good."

"OK, you wanna meet me and Jaz down here for breakfast in the morning?"

"Yeah sounds good." Dalton was happy with that, he had been hoping he would be able to see Jaz before she went to her appointment.

"Cool. I'm pretty sure I have the adjoining room to yours, so knock if you need anything."

Dalton quirked his eyebrows at him, "Fantastic. I have to listen to you snore all night?"

"Just like being at home, hey?" McG chuckled before setting off and Dalton just shook his head as he watched him walk off.

* * *

Five minutes later, Dalton was in his room and while he unpacked a few things, he text Jaz.

 _ **Hey, you asleep yet?**_ – Adam

 _ **Not yet, thought I'd wait up for you**_ – Jaz

Dalton smiled as he finished putting all his stuff away and sat down on the bed to continue texting.

 _ **You should get some sleep before tomorrow**_ – Adam

 _ **Easier said than done**_ – Jaz

Adam had a think about it. Jaz didn't sleep well when she was alone. That was when the nightmares claimed her. Maybe he should go and see her and stay until she fell asleep. He really wanted her to be well rested for tomorrow.

 _ **I'll come and say goodnight, text me your room number**_ – Adam

While he was waiting for Jaz to reply, he heard a knock coming from the door adjoining his room to McG's room and got up to answer it.

"You were quick, I thought…." He trailed off when he saw that it wasn't McG standing there, it was Jaz.

She was dressed in her pj's, a tank top and shorts, her hair was tied up in a top knot and her eyes sparkled from seeing the confusion in his deep blue eyes.

Dalton was shocked and opened his mouth to say something, before closing it again. Shaking his head slightly, he eventually asked her, "What are you doing in McG's room?"

Jaz looked at him with a smirk and with that deep raspy voice of hers, she replied, "It's not McG's room. It's mine."

"Does McG know that?"

"He arranged it."

Wow. McG had lied to him just minutes ago, and quite convincingly at that.

He wasn't pissed. He was impressed.

Jaz watched him shaking his head amusingly at himself, "Is that ok?" She asked in a low voice.

Looking back at her and meeting her soft brown eyes, he very deliberately lifted a hand to grab hers and slowly pulled her forward to close the door behind her.

He backed her up against the door and lifted her hand that was entwined with his, above her head, before lifting her other hand to do the same. Holding her in place there, he stared deep into her eyes before he lowered his head to hers and leaned forward to capture her lips with his own.

She responded instantly and chased his lips with her own when he pulled back slightly. Feeling the atmosphere around then becoming rapidly charged, Dalton moved his lips back towards hers and kissed her slowly, but deeply and hungrily.

Jaz could feel every part of her melting, every part of her wanting to wrap herself up in this kiss, and when he pulled back from her, it took her a good few seconds to be able to open her eyes back up. When she did, he could see the heat and desire reflected in them.

"Does that answer your question?" He asked her very deliberately.

She didn't answer him, but she broke his hold on her hands and wrapped hers around his neck, kissing him back, just as longingly and just as fervently, leaving them both breathless. She started to walk him backwards towards the bed, removing his t-shirt as she did so and starting to unbuckle his jeans.

He finished removing them while she made short work of her own clothing.

They hadn't been with each other in every sense of the word since they were back at the cabin, and that week following, up until this very moment had been a rollercoaster of emotions, taking its toll on both of them.

Their need for each other was immense.

With all their clothes now removed, Jaz pushed Adam down so that he was sitting on the bed and she stepped between his legs to kiss him again. She would never get tired of kissing him. His lips were so perfect and they moulded against hers like they were made for each other.

She pulled away to press her lips along his jawline, feeling the softness of his beard against her lips. She continued kissing down his neck, taking her time to breath in his scent, his own masculine scent that turned her on like never before.

She started to lower herself to her knees as she ran her tongue along the length of his neck, enjoying the growls of pleasure she could hear in his chest. Her lips kept travelling down from his neck, across his collar bone, kissing her way over his chest, while her hands followed their journey.

Every part of Adam shivered in response as goose bumps riddled his skin from the effect Jaz's lips and hands were having on him.

As her lips moved down over his stomach and approached the area of him aching in anticipation, he held his breath in eagerness of the pleasure that only Jaz could provide.

Resting her hands on his thighs, she sought out his eyes and locked their gazes together. She held that gaze as she lowered herself down to take the tip of his cock into her mouth and lick the small bead of pre-cum that had already appeared in readiness.

Adam couldn't tear his eyes away from Jaz's as she took him into her mouth and as she started to slide her mouth up and down him, he felt quivers deep down in his abdomen. He entwined his fingers in her hair, giving him something to grasp, something to hold onto and something to help him stay in some sort of control.

He threw his head back in a deep moan as she took his whole length into her mouth, feeling himself touching the back of her throat. She held him there for a couple of seconds as she hummed, sending vibrations of pleasure throughout his entire body, before she brought her head back up to lick the head of his cock with her tongue once again.

He moved his hands from her hair, to cradle her face and brought her up to kiss her. Any longer and he would have come too quickly and he wasn't done with her yet. He kissed her hungrily, his tongue searching deep in her mouth and he could taste his own saltiness on her, which only turned him on even more.

His kissed his way down her neck, before bringing her to her feet to stand in front of him again.

He wrapped one arm around her waist to hold her close, while his other hand swept up her body to cup her breast. While he massaged her breast with his large, capable hand, he placed his mouth over her other breast and sucked her nipple into his mouth.

The shocks waves emanated all the way from her breast, right down to her core as he continued to tease her nipple, biting on it softly all the while rolling her other nipple between his fingers.

Adam let his hand drift down her rib cage, following the curve of her waist around to caress her ass, kneading it in his large palm, still holding her close to him with his strong arm.

Lifting his gaze to meet hers, he let her hand migrate around to her front, cupping her in the palm of his hand, while his middle finger sought out her clit.

The impulses that her body emitted, had Jaz moaning out loud as Adam rubbed his finger across her engorged nub quicker, feeling how wet she already was. When his mouth latched back on to her nipple, she could barely stand it.

"Adam… Adam, I need…" Jaz struggled with her words, the pleasure her body was feeling not allowing her brain to function effectively.

"I need to be inside of you, Jaz." Dalton practically hissed, taking the words right out of Jaz's mouth.

Jaz nodded, relieved that he was on the same page, and he manoeuvred her even closer to him. The loss she felt as he removed his finger from her clit, was soon satiated, as he sat her down on his lap, helped her to wrap her legs around his waist and lowered her slowly down onto his length, all the while looking deep into her eyes, as if looking right into her soul.

Her hands that had been resting on his broad shoulders, came up to cup his face as she leaned forward to kiss him at the same time she rocked her hips against his.

They kissed deeply, tongues battling for domination as Adam's hands found their way to Jaz's hips and supported them and guided them as she moved herself up and down on his cock.

With all that had happened in the last week, they pressed themselves as close together as they could. Adam buried his head into Jaz's neck, and in turn she laced her fingers through his hair, holding on tight for support and leverage as they undulated in tandem and feeling the need for each other reaching new levels.

They both knew that they wouldn't last long and as their moans got louder and louder, they gave in to the ripples of ecstasy, both crying out with pleasure as they released everything they had been feeling, everything they had been wanting to do for the last week.

Gripping each other tight as their bodies still quivered from the shock waves, their chests heaved and their skin tingled.

Words escaped them, but they weren't needed. Right in this moment, all they needed was to feel each other's body heat and the immense amount of comfort and contentment that it provided.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed this. Please be honest and let me know what you thought, I love hearing from you :)**

 **I'm off work for 6 weeks now, so I intend on writing up a storm! I haven't had a chance yet to acknowledge you beautiful people who left a comment on my previous chapter, but I promise I will in the next day.**

 **For those of you who celebrate, Merry Christmas! And to all of you, be safe, take care and enjoy the end of 2018 XXX**


	29. Chapter 29

**Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you all much love and happiness in 2019.**

 **This chapter marks the beginning of the sessions with Cpt Xander Harris in DC.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did.**

* * *

 **Chapter 29**

Jaz woke in the early hours of the morning to Adam nuzzling her neck. She was snuggled up to his chest and despite her tiredness and bleary eyes, she couldn't help but smile and feel a warmth spread all the way from her neck to her toes.

They had fallen asleep exhausted and naked after making love for the first time in a week, only to wake a few hours later and once again they hadn't been able to keep their hands off each other. They had made love slowly and intimately, enjoying every moment of being together, behind the walls of this hotel in a city that could so easily expose them.

So Jaz couldn't help but smile languidly, feeling Adam's lips and beard sweep across her neck.

"Good morning." She managed to rasp out, her deep voice even raspier than usual in the early hours.

"It sure is." He whispered into her neck, the words tickling as they left his mouth and made contact with her skin.

Closing her eyes with the feelings his lips were evoking in her, right down to her core, she moaned quietly as his kisses became more intense and worked their way up to her mouth.

Kissing him back slowly and thoroughly, she rolled onto her back and pulled him with her so that he landed on top of her.

Jaz was her own woman, independent, fierce and bad ass. But feeling the full weight of Adam Dalton laying on top of her, the full weight of his muscle and masculinity, was something she would never tire of. It made her feel safe, protected and wanted.

Feeling her body start to writhe underneath him, Adam pulled back from her lips and stared into her eyes.

"I can't get enough of you Jaz." He breathed, wanting to both touch her and kiss her everywhere and so he started to make his way down her body.

He kissed his way down the length of her neck, hearing her moan a little more when he focused on her sweet spot and the sensitive skin under her jaw. He kept going down across her collarbone and décolletage, kissing as many of her scars that she had initially been hesitant to show. Moving down to her breasts he kissed both of them and in turn, took her already hard nipples into his mouth and sucked until he could feel her hips starting to grind against him, feeling him deep down in her core.

Still he moved his mouth down over her taught stomach, every scar crossing his path, getting attention before moving onto the next one. He dipped his tongue into her belly button and the little shockwave of pleasure that it conjured up, had her lifting her hips off the mattress. He let his tongue travel to the hollow area near her hip bone, before finally settling where she needed him the most.

Jaz was finding it hard to catch her breath as she felt Adam use his thumbs to gently separate her folds, before he slowly pressed both lips to her core to kiss her gently. He used his tongue to lick all the way up her slit before settling on her clit, tasting her juices from where she was already dripping wet.

He began to tease her clit with his tongue, lapping at it, nudging it and massaging it, all the while Jaz's hips moved in motion with his tongue. She placed the flat of her feet on the mattress so her knees were bent up, given her more leverage and she entwined her fingers through his hair, giving her an anchor to hold onto as her hips took on a life of their own.

Adam couldn't get enough of the taste of Jaz at the most carnal level and as he flattened his tongue against her and buried his mouth in her folds, he felt her grip on his hair tighten. The feel of his lips, tongue and beard caressing, kissing and moving against the most sensitive part of her body had Jaz already feeling the build-up of intensity that her body was desperate to release.

Adam moved his tongue down to her opening and started to move it in and out of her, mimicking what his cock was straining to do. His thumb reached to continue his assault on her clit and massaged it, increasing in pace, until Jaz quickly released her grip on his hair, grabbed his hand in one of hers and used her other to bring his head up to hers.

She launched her lips at his, kissing him intensely, passionately and hungrily, tasting her own juice on his lips, turning her on even more, if that was even possible.

Pulling away briefly she looked at him through hazy eyes and managed to choke out, "I need you inside of me, Adam. Right now."

Needing no further instruction, Adam slide into her with one long and hard thrust, causing them both to groan in gratification.

They moved together in slow, deliberate strokes while their lips still pressed against each other's and their chests heaved. Their bodies fit together like a jigsaw puzzle and moved together like a well choreographed dance routine.

Adam could feel himself bottom out with each stroke, her walls gripping him tightly and Jaz couldn't get enough of feeling him deep inside of her, whimpering with each stroke.

With each thrust, they couldn't help but exclaim their pleasure and Jaz knew she was about to come any moment now.

With a couple more thrusts, Jaz felt every fibre of her being initially tense up, teetering on the edge of orgasm, "Adam… Oh Adam…." She cried out as her body finally and completely gave in to the pleasure Adam was providing her.

Continuing to thrust deep within her as she came, providing both of them with continuing pleasure, Adam couldn't help but give in to his own climax as he watched Jaz break apart underneath him from her own.

Crying out himself, "Jaz… Fuck… Jaz…" He held her tight as he felt himself shudder and ejaculate hard and fast inside of her, continuing to rock together as their bodies sought every last bit of release from each other.

Adam collapsed on top of Jaz, burying his head in her neck as their chests heaved together, both trying to get their breath back. Their bodies were covered in a film of sweat and their juices still mixed together as their bodies last shockwaves rippled themselves out.

Once again, Jaz couldn't get enough of the full weight of Adam laying on top of her, especially after what they had just indulged in, and Adam just gripped her tight, delighting in her small but beautiful body, and how well it fit with his own.

Returning his earlier sentiment, Jaz placed her lips against Adam's ear and whispered earnestly, "I can't get enough of you either."

Adam pulled back to stare into her beautiful brown orbs and kissed her as his only response.

The depth of their feelings for each other both surprised and scared them both, but as they snuggled against each other to get another couple of hours sleep, they knew that however they felt about each other… they had never felt it before.

* * *

McG met Dalton and Jaz in the hotel's breakfast restaurant and heartily attacked the buffet. Never one to hold back on his food intake, it still continued to surprise the other two how much food he could put away, while still remaining lean and fit.

In between mouthfuls, McG stopped to take a swig of coffee and noticed how tired Jaz and Top both looked. Happy, but tired.

"You two both looked wrecked, what have you been… Oh – gross, never mind… don't answer that." McG put his hand up, realisation washing over him.

Jaz chose that moment to go and fill her plate again from the buffet, leaving Dalton to deal with McG.

Dalton just looked at McG, who after making a few different faces to himself, had gone straight back to shovelling food into his mouth.

"Thanks for the room, McG. The adjoining room, I mean." Dalton said seriously.

"No worries man, you clearly put it to good use." McG teased.

Dalton smiled quickly, before finishing up, "Seriously though, I really appreciate it. _We_ really appreciate it. Looks like I'm going to owe you a few favours."

"They'll keep." McG just grinned. He was just happy that his two best mates were happy. Rules schmules as far as he was concerned. If only it was that easy though.

Half an hour later, Jaz and McG left to head to the DIA for Jaz's appointment with Captain Harris.

Dalton had tried not to make a big deal about it, no big good luck speech or anything like that. He didn't want to make Jaz uncomfortable beforehand, he just wanted her to feel relaxed and at ease. He was glad McG was going with her, he was the prefect man for the job.

Dalton also knew that Captain Harris was the perfect man for the job. Xander had already managed to get through to Jaz once before. Hopefully he'll be able to again.

* * *

When they arrived at the DIA, Jaz and McG made their way to Captain Harris' office to meet with him. McG would be staying for the first five minutes of the meeting, and then he would leave Jaz and Captain Harris alone for the remainder of the time.

He was ready and waiting for them and ushered them into his office as soon as they arrived.

"Sgt McGuire, Sgt Khan, it's good to see you both." He greeted them with a handshake.

"Captain Harris." They both returned in unison.

"Please, call me Xander," He corrected them before continuing cheekily, "And no, as far as I know, my parents didn't hate me."

Jaz chuckled, remembering giving him some attitude when she had first met him in Incirlik.

They both sat down.

"Jaz… can I call you Jaz?" He asked and then continued after she nodded her head, "I was so glad you decided to meet with me. I've wondered how you were getting on since I last saw you in Incirlik."

"Yeah, it's been… um, up and down I suppose." She looked over at McG quickly for support and when he gave her an encouraging nod, she continued, "but the nightmares are starting to take their toll," she admitted.

"Ok, well we can certainly help you deal with those." Xander assured her.

Gesturing towards McG, he said "McGuire here has filled me in a little bit, and if you're agreeable, I'd like to see you every second business day for two weeks. That way, it will give you time to process each of our sessions, as well as try some strategies we put in place. Of course though, I'm available on those other days if you need, and I'll leave you with my cell number should you need it in an emergency. What do you think?"

Jaz let it process in her head for a short moment. She hadn't been sure of a time frame for these meetings, but she was willing to put in the time to help get herself back to where she wanted her frame of mind to be.

Looking at Xander, she nodded her head and said, "Sounds good."

"Great." Xander answered, glad she had been so agreeable to his suggestion. "If you want McGuire to stay for any sessions, if it makes you more comfortable, that is more than fine. Or if there is anyone else from your team you would like in the session that is also fine."

Although Jaz was so appreciative of McG's help with all of this, it was something she wanted to do herself. There were certain aspects that she knew would come up, that she hadn't told her team about yet, not even Dalton, and she didn't want them finding out like this.

"I think I'd like to try these sessions by myself." She said simply and both Xander and McG nodded their heads at her decision.

"Ok. One last thing, Jaz. These sessions are confidential, unless I deem that you are in any danger to yourself or others, or if I have any major concerns about your welfare. In that case I will be required to inform your Commanding Officer, as well as the Deputy Director."

"Yeah, I figured as much."

"Ok, McGuire… is all of this ok with you? I know you had a hand in getting Jaz here to agree to this." He asked McG.

"All good." McG seemed satisfied, "I'll leave her in your capable hands."

McG stood up and put a comforting hand on Jaz's shoulder, "I'll be in the building somewhere when you're done. Just let me know ok?"

"Thanks McG." She said to him as he left the room, leaving just herself and Xander.

"From everything I've seen, you have a great team, you all seem pretty close." Xander observed.

"Yeah, they're great." Jaz smiled, already knowing how lucky she was with the guys she worked with.

"Ok Jaz, if you're ready, I'd like us to start this session by making a list. On the list we are going to write down everything that has been troubling you, or is making an appearance in your nightmares. From there, we are going to work through the list over the next couple of weeks and see what we can do to alleviate some of their impact. Do you think we can do that?" Xander asked her gently.

Jaz took a big deep breath and lowered her gaze to look down at her hands. She knew this wasn't going to be an easy process. If she wanted to do this properly, she was going to have to bring to light a lot of issues that sat heavily with her. Things she tried to keep below the surface, but that reared their ugly heads in her sleep. But she knew she needed to commit to this, for her sake, for her teams sake, for her and Adam's sake, and for her own sanity.

Looking back up at Xander, who was waiting patiently for her to continue, giving her all the time in the world that she needed, she knew this was going to be the best opportunity for her to get the help she needed.

"Let's do it." She said quietly but determinedly.

* * *

A few hours later, it was Dalton's time for his appointment.

"Captain Harris."

"Captain Dalton."

Both chuckling, they greeted each other with a warm handshake.

"Good to see you Xander."

"You too, Adam, you too. I have to say, I was both surprised and pleased when I heard from Sgt McGuire regarding an appointment for yourself." Xander admitted.

Dalton nodded his head, searching for the words, "Yeah. I guess a few things caught up with me and I let them get the better of me."

"Nightmares?"

"Yeah, for one. A couple of other things I'd like to unload on you too." He said with a wry smile.

"Well hey, that's what I'm here for right?" Xander laughed.

Dalton wanted to address something before they continued, "I never got a chance to thank you for checking in on Jaz in Incirlik. I really appreciate it, I know it helped her. And I also appreciate you fitting us both in to your schedule here. I know you're a busy man."

"Well aren't we all? No, seriously, it was my pleasure. And hopefully we can help both Jaz and yourself while you are here. I know you are both highly valued members of our defence squad."

Dalton smiled at him and Xander started their session off.

"Ok Adam, you know the drill. These sessions are confidential, unless I deem that you are in any danger to yourself or others, or if I have any major concerns about your welfare. In that case I will be required to inform the Deputy Director."

"Yep, I remember." Dalton said wryly with a smirk on his face.

From there, Xander started with the same approach as he did with Jaz, "We can decide on how many sessions you come to as we go. I'd like us to start this session by making a list. On the list we are going to write down everything that has been troubling you, or is making an appearance in your nightmares. From there, we are going to work through the list over the next couple of weeks and see what we can do to alleviate some of their impact. Sound ok?"

Dalton took a deep breath. He knew this wasn't going to be an easy process, but if he wanted to be free of some of the demons that plagued him, he had to commit to this and do it properly. If he had encouraged Jaz to seek help so much, he had to be willing to do the same. And he was. He wanted this for himself. And he wanted this for whatever future he may have, with or without Jaz.

"Sounds great." He said bluntly, but meaning every word.

* * *

Dalton left the DIA just over an hour later. He had finished up his first session with Xander and had run into Noah and Hannah in the corridor. After a brief chat and a promise to meet up at some stage with everyone else, he started to walk back to the hotel.

He was relatively pleased with his first session with Xander. It was never easy to talk about these topics. It was difficult enough just to recognise them, but then to talk about them was another thing. It was a work in progress nevertheless.

Just like his need for physical activity after a nightmare, he felt similarly after one of these sessions. He decided he would hit the pool at the hotel and get a few laps in.

McG, Amir, Jaz and himself had set up their own WhatsApp group for this trip in DC to communicate with each other. He thought he would see what the others were up to.

 _ **Going to hit the pool at the hotel for a few laps, anyone around?**_ – Top.

 _ **I'm cooking dinner for Hannah tonight, I'm at the store getting supplies**_ – Amir.

 _ **I'm assuming we're invited too?**_ – McG.

 _ **Nope**_ – Amir.

 _ **Rude. I'm going to have a little siesta, Top. I'll meet you for dinner**_ – McG.

There was no response from Jaz. He wondered if maybe she was having a little nap too.

When he got back to his room, he threw on his board shorts and then knocked on the door to Jaz's adjoining room. When there was no response, he figured she must be out and about somewhere. He would catch up with her later.

He just hoped she was ok after her first session. He had tried not to worry about her, but it was impossible. She was a part of him now, and it was ingrained in him to worry about his team, but especially her.

And he missed her. It had only been a few hours since he had seen her, but he missed her.

Dalton couldn't help but smile to himself when he walked out to the pool to see a solitary figure churning through some laps. He would know that lithe figure and long dark hair anyway.

Seeing her gear on a nearby chair, he threw his stuff next to hers and entered the pool at the end she was swimming towards. Standing there in her way, she had no option but to pull up so that she didn't knock into him.

"Hey" She greeted him once she had pulled up and realised who had been blocking her path.

"Hey. Looks like you had the same idea as me." Dalton was desperate to touch her, just hug her or hold her hand, but not here in public. Not in DC.

Instead he just asked her, "How has your day been?"

Jaz smiled vaguely and said, "So far it's been fine. It started off pretty well."

"Huh. Me too coincidently." Dalton smiled back at her, watching her cheeks turn slightly pink.

"How was your afternoon?" Jaz ventured.

"It was fine too." He replied.

Neither of them wanted to get into any details out here. They could talk later on. Instead Jaz turned to Dalton and said "Come on, I'll race you," and with that she ducked back under the water, pushed off from the wall and took off down the pool in a mean freestyle, leaving Dalton to catch up to her.

* * *

Dinner that night was just Dalton, Jaz and McG. They ventured down the road and found themselves in an Italian restaurant drinking red wine and eating pasta.

Despite McG knowing that today had been a big step for both Jaz and Dalton in learning how to cope with what kept them awake at night and festered in their subconscious, he tried to keep things light over dinner. He kept them entertained with stories of his home in Montana, and his escapades with women.

Dalton rolled his eyes at the last topic, never forgetting how McG's love of a pretty face led them to a surprise mission in Seville. Luckily it had all worked out well and had ended up being an extreme advantage for their team and country. And realistically, who was he to judge McG's love life these days anyway? After the clear and unquestionable acceptance and support he had shown towards him and Jaz, as well as his assistance in their appointments and arrangements here in DC, he owed him a bit of slack. Hell, he owed him a lot more than that.

On the walk back to the hotel, they stopped off and bought some wine and beer to put in their mini fridges in their hotel rooms. Jaz had gotten lucky with her room, and had a mini suite with a couch and a couple of arm chairs, so they all went to her room to open a bottle of wine.

Dalton and McG each sat in an arm chair, while Jaz went into the bathroom to change into her pj's for comfort and then put her feet up on the couch. They text Preach to check in on him and Patton, wondered what Amir was doing – and then thought better of it, and finished up the bottle of wine.

Making arrangements to meet the next morning for breakfast, before deciding what to do with their free day, McG decided to leave these two alone since he knew they probably wanted to talk about their appointments today. Besides, he had a date with Netflix, there were a lot of options just sitting there on his watch list, demanding his attention.

When he left, Dalton stood up from the arm chair, walked over to the couch that Jaz was sitting on, lifted her feet up and sat himself underneath them, resting her feet back on his lap.

As he started to rub her feet, he turned to look at her and smiled softly.

Returning the same soft smile, she offered, "It's ok for you to ask me."

Knowing exactly what she was talking about, he huffed out a laugh, before turning serious again, "I don't want to pry and I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me anything. I just want to know that you're ok."

"I'm ok." She assured him, before looking down at her lap, "But I'd like to tell you about some of it. One thing I told Xander I want to work on is letting people in. I know I'm not very good at that. He suggested one way to do that was to share some of my… umm – burdens with people, or someone I'm comfortable with."

Looking up into his face, seeing his beautiful blue eyes offering her nothing but support, she said quietly, "I'm comfortable with you."

He didn't say anything, but his eyes filled with even more warmth and he ran his hand up and down her lower leg, watching her as she took a deep breath.

"We talked about Hossein today."

Dalton just nodded very slightly at her, not wanting to say anything just yet.

"I talked to Xander about what I talked to you about that day by the lake. I thought since I had already spoken to you about it, it might be easier to start with."

"And was it?" Dalton asked softly.

Jaz thought about it for a few seconds, "Not really… But I don't think it'll ever be easy."

Again, Dalton nodded in understanding.

Jaz continued, "We made a list of things that have been bothering me, and what I've been having nightmares about. We're going to work through them and just see how I go, although I don't imagine it's going to be easy."

"No it won't be." Dalton agreed, not wanting to give her any false expectations.

Jaz watched him as he lowered his eyes to his hand, still resting on her leg.

"How about you?" She asked quietly. "Your appointment."

"Would you believe that we also made a list of things that haven't been sitting well with me, and what I have nightmares about?" Dalton asked with a small smile on his face.

Jaz smiled at him, "Same game plan, huh?"

"Would seem so. We didn't get much further than that today, but there's a few things on that list."

Looking back up at her, at her face that despite her own troubles, was concerned about his, he felt the need to say, "Jaz, let's try to be as open as we can about this. If there's something you're really not comfortable talking to me about, that's ok. But maybe it's talking about the uncomfortable topics that make it a bit easier, less of a burden."

"That's more or less what Xander said today." Jaz told him.

'Well hopefully he knows what he's talking about."

Lifting her legs off his lap and scooting herself over to sit on his lap, she placed a hand on his neck and said quietly, "I do want to try and talk about some of this stuff with you, especially now, especially since we… since we are…"

Smiling as she drifted off, he couldn't help but tease her, "Since we are what, Jaz?"

Pursing her lips and taking a deep breath, but feeling emboldened by the wine she managed to finish off, "Since we are together."

Letting a grin spread slowly across his face, and his eyes shine with affection, he couldn't help but be captivated hearing those words out of her mouth. It was still so new, still so raw and still felt so damn amazing.

"That we are" He agreed with her before placing a hand on her cheek and pulling her close. He paused when they were almost nose-to-nose just to look at her, to stare into her eyes and smell her scent. He could barely breathe when she was this close. She was intoxicating.

Gently running his thumb across her cheek, he closed the gap between then and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her like he had wanted to all day.

She kissed him back softly at first, caught up in the emotion of what they had been discussing. Just him being close was always a comfort to her, but being able to kiss him, made her feel even closer to him.

Eventually she changed her position on his lap so she was straddling him and tilted her head to deepen the kiss. Lacing her fingers through his hair, she held him tight to her and gasped a little when he stood up, wrapped her legs around her waist and carried her towards her bed.

Lowering her down on the bed, he pulled away quickly and looked around, "How come you got the biggest room?"

"Flirted with the guy at reception." She retorted quickly.

Dalton smirked, "Good move."

They brought their lips back together and continued to kiss each other until they were breathless.

Stripping their clothes from one another they explored each other and their bodies well into the night, leaving each other panting and exhausted, but satisfied. Very, very satisfied.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Starting to write about the sessions with Xander was difficult because I wasn't quite sure how to approach them. Some of the sessions will be seen (or read) in the chapters, but some will be reflected on or thought about by Jaz and Adam. I have a little bit of experience with therapy and psychology, but obviously not as much as Xander does!**

 **Anyway, thank you for reading. I'm currently writing Chapter 32, and I'm finding that one to be tough. Wish me luck! Thanks again, as always XXX**


	30. Chapter 30

**Thanks for the lovely feedback on the last chapter. I truly appreciate every single word.**

 **I've had to do a little bit of research into DC for the next few chapters, and being an Aussie, I just hope the few tid bits in there are correct. Feel free to correct me.**

 **Hope you all enjoy this :)**

 **I do not own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 30**

Dalton, Jaz, McG and Amir all had breakfast together that morning while deciding what to do for the day. None of them had any plans, and Hannah was working so Amir was going to spend the day with them too.

Since Amir had already done some sightseeing while he had been in DC, he offered some tips for the day and they were happy to be led by DC's newest temporary resident. Of course, McG couldn't help but tease him, knowing the reason for his lengthy stay, but Amir just kept threatening not to cook on their next deployment, which shut McG up pretty quickly.

Amir wanted to take them to a place he had yet to get to, mostly because he wanted to take some photos while he was there. The observation deck at CEB Tower apparently had 360 degree panoramic views of the city, and he was keen to capture as much as he could.

"Aw man, more photos we have to wait for you to take." McG complained once Amir mentioned taking his camera.

"There's a café and bar up there too." Amir offered.

"Sold." McG agreed quickly, easily assuaged by the promise of food and drink.

Rolling their eyes at him, they went back to their rooms to grab what they would need for the day.

Taking advantage of a brief few minutes of privacy, Jaz walked through the adjoining door between their bedrooms and seeing Dalton grabbing a sweater from the wardrobe, she went and stood behind him, put her arms around his waist to hold tight and pressed a kiss between his shoulder blades.

Smiling at her sudden appearance behind him, he turned around in her arms and pressed a kiss to her lips, "You're still like a ninja, you know that?" He asked, once he had pulled away from her lips.

"Uh huh." She acknowledged before kissing him again. She was secretly very happy with her ability to sneak up on him. Not much got past Adam Dalton, but she was capable of doing so, whether he was happy with that or not.

Holding her close, Dalton returned Jaz's kiss, it was impossible not to and he very briefly wished that they hadn't agreed to Amir's plans and that they could just spend the day together behind closed doors. But at least they still had their nights, just for the two of them.

Jaz pulled away just as things started to get heated. Without even needing to speak, they both knew that if she hadn't pulled away just then, they would have been a lot later than expected to meet Amir and McG in the lobby. And they didn't like to keep anyone waiting. It wasn't how they operated, both in the field and in life in general.

"We'll continue this later." Dalton breathed out, catching his breath. Jaz's kisses still left him breathless and they needed to leave this room before he gave in to the need to kiss her again.

"Mmhmm." Was all Jaz could reply. Dalton's kisses made her dizzy with want, and all of a sudden their night together seemed so very far away.

* * *

The observation deck at CEB Tower, turned out to be amazing. Amir was pretty satisfied with the photos he was able to take, and the others made do with some great pictures on their phones.

While Dalton didn't find it quite as spectacular as the Blue Ridge Mountains, even he had to admit the view was great. It was a very clear day and they could see most of the city's famous landmarks and monuments, which they all hoped to visit in the next couple of weeks.

As usual, Jaz took a few selfies of them all and quickly sent them to Preach, before wandering over to where Dalton had headed, looking out the window.

"I know what you're thinking." She said as she sidled up next to him.

"You're psychic now?" He quizzed her.

"You're thinking that the view isn't as spectacular as the Blue Ridge Mountains." She said smugly.

Turning his head to look at her with a grin on his face, he praised her, "You are psychic."

She chuckled, "Told you… and I agree with you."

He was thrilled that she seemed to love his mountains as much as he did. He was hoping like crazy that they would be able to spend a lot more time together there.

As promised to McG, they had lunch at the café and continued to enjoy the views. Their job took them all over the world, but they were rarely in one destination long enough to appreciate it, let alone get to explore it. They were taking advantage of all the time they had, even if it was in their home country.

Over lunch Amir got a text from Hannah, asking him to ask the team if they all wanted to have dinner at her apartment the following night. With no other plans to speak of, they all nodded their head in agreeance.

McG, with his one track mind, asked Amir, "Can your girlfriend cook?"

"Actually she's an excellent cook. She specialises in dessert." Amir said as the corner of his mouth quirked up, almost baiting McG.

McG looked at him, trying to read his facial expression. In the end, they both just cracked up laughing; not in disrespect of Hannah, but just in respect of their banter and friendship.

* * *

Late that afternoon, after getting back to the hotel, Dalton and McG hit the gym, Jaz went for a swim in the pool and Amir went to upload his new photos on to his lap top.

A couple of hours later, they all reconvened in a booth at the hotel bar. They ordered drinks and a few snacks; none of them all that hungry after their relatively large lunch.

Jaz and Dalton could only think about each other, and were thinking about how they nearly didn't make it to the CEB Tower this morning. Needless to say they didn't stay late at the bar, both claiming to want an early night before their appointments with Xander the next day.

McG and Amir were left looking after them knowingly as they made a quick getaway towards the elevators.

"I'm both super happy for them… and super grossed out."

"You're just jealous." Amir responded dryly.

McG nodded slowly, "You might be right, dude. It's been a while…"

Noticing him trailing off, Amir looked up to see McG smiling that killer smile of his towards a pretty lady at the bar.

"Something tells me that drought is about to break."

* * *

Early the next morning, Jaz roused from where she was sleeping with her head resting on Adam's chest. With a crick in her neck, she pressed a quick kiss to Adam's chest before she rolled over to lie on her other side. Sensing her movement, Adam followed her, spooning behind her and placing one arm under her neck and his other arm around her waist to pull her close to him. Both still naked from the night before, their bodies fit together perfectly.

Jaz blinked her eyes tiredly, stretching her neck out, not quite sure if Adam was awake or just instinctual. It wasn't until she felt him press a kiss to the back of her shoulder that her question was answered. She smiled to herself sleepily as she felt him continue to press his lips against her shoulder and then make his way up her neck.

She snuggled back into him, never tiring of the feel of him so close, and felt him pressed hard up against her back.

She felt his hand flatten against her stomach, holding her tight against him and as his lips paid special attention to the area just below her jawline, his hand drifted up her lithe body to cup her breast.

Moaning at the feel of his hand on her, she pressed herself into his hand, arching her back so her ass rubbed up against his cock. He massaged her breast softly and deftly, enjoying the humming sounds she made and the way her beautiful body moved in response.

Bending up the arm currently under her neck so that it crossed her chest and took over the massaging on her breast, he let his other hand wander back down across her stomach and down to her heat, where he found her already wet and waiting for him.

He teased her clit slowly, dancing around it with his fingertips so that she moved her hips in search of him. Smiling into her neck, her gave her what she wanted and rubbed her so that her hips rocked back and forth, sliding against his cock, causing him to moan with her as he ground himself against her back.

With the feel of his hands all over her and his lips hot on her neck, Jaz needed more.

"Adam, please." She pleaded quietly.

Needing no further invitation, she felt Adam lift her leg slightly, positioned himself at her entrance and with one deep thrust she felt him fill her up, her eyes nearly rolling back in their sockets at the instant pleasure.

Holding onto her hip as he thrust up into her from behind, Adam used his other arm to tilt her head back towards his so he could kiss her lips.

He felt so close to her like this, so intimate. Every inch of her was wrapped up by him and he cherished every single part of her.

Jaz pulled her lips away from his, to moan even louder. Every part of her was ablaze, every part of her craved his touch. She lifted his hand from her hip and placed it back at her apex, keeping her hand on his as he began to tease her clit once again.

Adam continued to thrust into her, undulating with her as she rocked with him. Increasing his pace, he could feel Jaz start to tremble and he rubbed her clit even faster and latched onto the pulse point on her neck as she fell apart in his arms.

Crying out her ecstasy, she held his hand even harder against her as he teased out all the shockwaves unfurling themselves throughout her body.

Hearing her be so uninhibited with him, made him thrust faster inside of her, seeking his own release. In no time at all he followed her into oblivion, as he felt himself come fast and hard inside of her. He wrapped his arms around her to hold her tight as he continued to jerk inside of her and buried his head into her hair, inhaling her scent.

"Jaz." He breathed into her ear in reverence to what she did to him.

Bringing her hand up to his cheek, she twisted her neck around to press her lips to his hers as they were both still trying to catch their breath.

Not moving from this position, both so comfortable in their intimacy, they fell asleep, waking up in exactly the same position when their alarm went off a couple of hours later.

* * *

"Jaz, good to see you again." Xander greeted her as she walked into his office the next day for her appointment.

"You too." She said, sitting down after Xander gestured towards the seats.

"So, how did you feel after our first session?"

Pausing for a few seconds to gather her thoughts, Jaz remembered talking about Hossein and the guilt she had felt after he had been killed. Like she had told Adam, it wasn't any easier talking about Hossein, even though she had already spoken to him about Hossein that day at the lake. She still felt some small amount of guilt about his death and the fact that he was Adam's friend. But speaking about him did take a tiny, miniscule weight off her shoulder. She doesn't know if she'll ever be free of that guilt, but she hopes she can find a way to live with it more peacefully.

And that's exactly what she told Xander, except she left out the part about speaking to Adam about it.

Xander had the list they had put together in the last session in front of him.

"What would you like to talk about today, Jaz?"

"I think what I would _like_ to talk about is a big statement."

"I understand that." Xander nodded in sympathy.

Looking down at her hands where she was unconsciously twiddling her thumbs, she whispered, "Elijah. I need to talk about Elijah."

"Ok, let's talk about Elijah."

Jaz took a deep breath, not knowing quite where to start.

Elijah had been the first person to ever make Jaz feel like she belonged to something, or just belonged in general. He was the first person to ever show any interest in her, not romantically, but just as a human being.

At school she had just been another student with a fucked up home life, they weren't unusual in Queens. At home, she had just been a disappointment. When she first joined the army, she had been just another recruit, wanting to escape something and serve their country. In other teams, she had been viewed as just another female wanting to prove that she was as capable as the men and to other CO's she was just a token female making up the numbers for the sake of equality.

Elijah hadn't seen any of that. He just saw someone he wanted to find out more about, and by gently chipping away her rough exterior piece by piece, he got there slowly.

He made her smile and he made her laugh, sometimes so hard her sides hurt for days. He made her feel included and for the first time in her life, he made her feel like she had a family. The whole team were that way, but Elijah had been her person. She'd never had a best friend before, never really had a friend at all, but something in Elijah made her happy.

He'd been full of life and happy-go-lucky. The whole team relied on him for his positive attitude and infectious enthusiasm for everything. Jaz had never thought she would like someone with so much zest for life, but he had been her sunshine. He had brightened up her world and made her happy.

Losing him, especially so quickly like that, had broken her heart. Her whole world had dimmed and the lightness that had gradually been creeping its way into her heart had darkened. She had been angry. Angry at the asshole that shot him. And angry at Elijah for leaving her.

And that's exactly what she told Xander.

After a few moments, Xander asked her, "Are you still angry?"

Jaz took a deep breath, "I'm still angry at how he was taken away from me, away from all of us. But I don't think I'm angry at him, it was just easier to feel anger than anything else."

Xander just nodded his head in understanding, "You know it's ok to be angry. It's a feeling and no matter how much it hurts, it's better to feel something than feel nothing. It's ok to feel whatever you are feeling. It's not wrong to feel whatever you are feeling, so long as you are able to recognise it and from here, we try to process it and help you cope with it. We'll work with that anger."

"I, umm – I miss him." Jaz admitted quietly. It wasn't news to her or anyone else, but saying it out loud wasn't something she was good at. Not something she felt comfortable with. The tears prickling her eyes, wouldn't fall, she wouldn't let them, but the ache in her heart was difficult to ignore.

Speaking softly to her, recognising how difficult this was for her, Xander asked her, "How has your team changed since Elijah passed away?"

Jaz thought about it. A lot had changed, and yet so much was still the same, "Well Amir joined the team, and I was pretty horrible to him at first."

"Nothing wrong with a bit of hazing." Xander joked, understanding her reason for giving Amir a hard time.

Jaz smirked and then continued, "We're a close team. We already were when Elijah was alive, but probably even more so now." She stopped and looked at Xander expectantly, "I suppose you're going to tell me that something good always comes out of a tragedy?"

"I wasn't actually. But it sounds like _you_ think something did."

Jaz thought about Amir and the friendship she had with him now. She thought about McG and Preach and the familial relationship she had with them; how they had looked after her and tried to make her laugh. And she thought about Adam. She didn't even know where to start with him, but it made her smile.

Xander watched a small smile spread across her face and she looked up at him and just said quietly, "It did."

* * *

"So you blame yourself for Elijah getting killed?"

Dalton stared into space in Xander's office later that afternoon, that tragic day running itself through his mind over and over.

"I feel responsible. He was under my command and he followed my orders. I've lost people before, but never one under my command. It's my responsibility to bring everyone home safe"

"You and I both know the environment you work in and the nature of your work is extremely unpredictable and often volatile. And the risks involved… well this isn't your average 9-5 job. Elijah knew that too. You all do. It's why you have plans, and plans for plans. And it's why you have letters written in case any mission is your last. It doesn't make loss any easier, but it's never the fault of one person."

Xander watched a myriad of expressions cross Dalton's face; expressions that would have been invisible to the untrained eye.

"Yeah." Dalton agreed solemnly, knowing that he himself, would say the same thing to anyone else who felt guilt in a situation like this.

"Is there something else weighing on your mind from Elijah's death?"

It was as if Xander could read his mind. It was Jaz. Knowing she had lost her best friend and had been right there to witness it, was devastating. He could still see Elijah lying in Jaz's arms where she had caught him, refusing to let go of him. Knowing the very small amount he did about her family and her upbringing, the loss of Elijah had no doubt been crushing.

He told something of that effect to Xander, hoping he came across as a concerned CO and not anything else. Even before these last few weeks with Jaz, this had weighed on him. This team was special and they were close, losing a member was hard. But it had been especially hard on Jaz, and that had affected him more than he had realised.

"You know Adam, it's a great quality of a CO to be concerned about his subordinates, especially on a team such as yours. You're making split second decisions, in highly dangerous circumstances and facing extremely tense situations that 99.9 percent of the population have no idea actually exist. You're fighting continuous battles that those same people don't even know are going on. I'd be perturbed for you if you didn't show concern for your teammates. It's what makes you a great leader."

Dalton just sat and took his words in. His team _was_ special. They were a family and he would be at a loss if anything happened to any one of them.

But something he couldn't tell Xander, and he's not sure if he ever would, is that if it happened to Jaz, it was that bit harder to cope with. That bit harder to process. And that bit harder to let go.

* * *

When Dalton walked back through the hotel, returning from his appointment with Xander, he saw Jaz sitting in the hotel bar with an untouched coffee sitting in front of her, staring into space.

He had seen on their group chat that Amir was at Hannah's apartment already and McG was in the gym, so he approached her and sat down in the chair opposite her, smiling once she noticed him.

"Hey."

"Hey" He returned, noticing the weariness on her face, "Not touching your coffee?"

"I thought it would wake me up, but now I'm just debating a nap."

"Tough day?"

"Kind of. I've had worse though." Jaz admitted, "How was yours?"

"I've had worse too. Go take a nap, we're not due at Hannah's for a few hours yet."

She nodded, conceding that she was desperately in need of one. Looking at him coyly she asked, "Want to join me? Just to sleep," she clarified.

They had been up late the night before and up again early this morning. Dalton didn't need much encouragement, "Your place or mine?"

Despite having adjoining rooms, they were still entering their own rooms separately. They couldn't be too careful, not knowing who could be watching, so they gave the appearance they were in separate rooms.

Once they had entered, Jaz walked through the door, undressed and hopped into the king size bed, where Dalton soon followed her.

Snuggling up next to him, Dalton pulled her close. He loved these quiet moments with her. He loved every moment with her, but these quiet moments, when it was just the two of them, not necessarily doing anything, just enjoying the others' company were probably his favourite.

His need to have her close to him grew exponentially every day, to the point where it scared him how much he needed her next to him. Lying here like this, wrapped around each other and just breathing each other in… there was nowhere else he would rather be.

Jaz surprised him by whispering, "I talked about Elijah today."

Dalton held her even tighter as he took a deep breath and admitted, "Me too."

She lifted her head slightly to look at his face, "You did?"

Dalton just nodded in response.

"I miss him." Jaz murmured, resting her head back down on his chest.

Leaning forward to kiss her forehead, he whispered back, "I know you do. I do too."

Jaz held him tighter with the arm that she had wrapped around his waist, and Dalton stroked her hair off her face.

"Get some sleep, we can talk about this later." Dalton said softly to her.

Pressing a kiss to his chest and breathing in his scent, she closed her eyes and felt herself drift off to sleep. She had never been more comfortable than she was when she was wrapped around this beautiful man.

The way he held her, the way he comforted her, made everything a little bit easier and a little bit lighter.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I wanted to post this chapter a few days ago, but that didn't happen - sorry!**

 **The topic of Elijah continues into the next chapter too.**

 **Let me know what you thought and as always, thank you so much for continuing to read and especially to those who leave comments :)**

 **Oh, and to those who say they are glad I'm continuing this story - I have no intention of stopping any time soon. I have lots of ideas for this!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Sorry, sorry, sorry, SORRY! I didn't mean to leave it this long between updates. My six weeks off work didn't go exactly to plan, but I hope that this chapter will make for that. Please read, and hopefully enjoy. You may need to read Ch 30 again to refresh yourself, but this continues on after Jaz and Dalton have spoken to Xander about Elijah.**

 **I don't own The Brave or it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 31**

Following Jaz and Dalton's nap, the team gathered at Hannah's place that evening for dinner. They were all appreciative of the invitation and even McG was on his best behaviour.

"Hi Joseph." Hannah cheekily greeted him, making McG chuckle.

"Joseph?" Jaz questioned.

"That's how he introduced himself to me in Colombia." Hannah said.

Jaz looked at McG and scoffed, "You're a dick."

McG just shrugged, "So I've been told."

Other than Amir, the other three didn't know Hannah all that well. They communicated with her regularly of course during every mission and sometimes in between, but they were usually half a world away. But since she was a part of the team, and clearly now very important to Amir, they were looking forward to getting to know her better, and she felt the same way.

Hannah had cooked up a storm and over dinner they traded stories. It felt nice to be in a less pressured situation to what they were usually conversing about. As usual McG kept them entertained, Jaz made sure to take him down a peg or two every now and then, Dalton alternated between laughing and shaking his head and Amir rolled his eyes plenty.

Hannah just sat back and soaked it all up, appreciating how close this team was. It was obvious when they were on missions how in sync they were with each other, and their banter during high pressure situations always amazed her. Seeing them now in person though, she envied what they all had together. Their relationship went much further than friendship and comradeship, and she could only imagine what they were like when Preach was with them too.

She looked forward to getting to know them even better, especially given her new relationship with Amir.

Jaz watched Amir and Hannah. They weren't over the top with the PDA, just a small touch of hands every now and then, and exchanged glances. She was happy for them, but she couldn't help but feel envious.

She and Adam would never be over the top with their PDA in public; even if they were in an ideal situation, it's not who they are. But nights like tonight, where they sat at opposite ends of the table so as not to give in to any temptation, made her wonder if it will ever be different.

Will they ever be able to be themselves, and be with each other in front of the whole world? She knew the answer to that for now, and for now they were willing to keep it that way.

 _But would it always be like this?_

Although Dalton was sitting at the opposite end of the table from Jaz, he could read her face. He saw her quietly watching Amir and Hannah. He had been too. It was great to see Amir happy. Life had been rough to him, and he deserved happiness. But just like he knew what Jaz was thinking, he wondered if they could ever truly be themselves outside of their Omega team, particularly in their current surroundings.

He'd still rather be with Jaz behind closed doors, than without her completely, but he wondered if they would ever have the freedom to be open about their relationship.

* * *

They didn't stay too late at Hannah's since she was working all weekend, and even Amir went back to the hotel with the other three. They'd had a great time though, and were going to get together again.

They decided to have a drink in the hotel bar when they got back given that it was a Friday night and none of them had anywhere to be or had any appointments tomorrow.

Jaz and Dalton went to get the drinks, while McG and Amir snagged a booth.

Leaning up against the bar, waiting for their order, Dalton noticed Jaz zoning out a little bit. "You ok?" He asked.

Blinking herself out of her daze, she looked at him with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "Yeah I'm fine."

"Jaz…"

"I'm ok honestly. I just talked about Elijah more today than I have since he passed away. It just has me thinking and reminiscing."

Dalton desperately wanted to touch her right then and offer her some comfort. His fingers itched and his arms ached to wrap around her, and once again he envied Amir and Hannah and their freedom to be relatively open about their relationship.

Their drinks were placed in front of them just then and before Dalton could respond, Jaz had picked up a couple of glasses and headed to the booth. Dalton got the last two drinks and followed her, noticing that McG and Amir had left one side of the booth empty for Jaz and Dalton to sit together.

Dalton was very appreciative of that gesture right then, so when they settled in the booth, he reached his hand over to grasp hers where it was laying on her thigh. Gripping it in his, he hoped that he could get across a silent message of support and a promise to revisit the topic later on.

When he felt Jaz squeeze his hand back in response and smile at him softly, he knew it had.

Lingering just a few moments more, he eventually pulled his hand away, placing it above the table and joined in the conversation of planning what to do over the weekend.

"Surely Mr DC here has some suggestions for us." McG gestured towards Amir.

"Well actually, there's all the monuments here that we could check out."

"That sounds great actually. I've been here a few times, but I've never seen much outside of the DIA." Dalton said.

McG and Jaz nodded in agreement and said in unison, "Let's do it."

Changing the topic, McG decided to rib Amir, "So Hannah's pretty great. What does she see in you?"

"My charm and good looks obviously," Amir replied without a beat.

"Well hopefully your future kids take after her in the height department."

Amir just shook his head, but couldn't help but chuckle at McG's comment, "Your jealousy is entertaining."

"I'm not jealous dude, I'm just genuinely worried about your future offspring."

Jaz giggled at the banter between the two of them. They are just what she needed to keep her mind occupied.

* * *

Later that night, Jaz and Dalton sat on the couch in Jaz's hotel room with a movie on the TV that neither of them were watching.

Dalton saw Jaz smiling to herself, and since the movie wasn't a comedy he knew it was about something else.

"What are you smiling at?" He broached quietly.

"I'm actually just thinking about Elijah."

"I'm glad that you're smiling about him."

Jaz nodded, still just staring at nothing in particular, "He always used to tease me."

"He was good at that. He teased all of you, me included sometimes."

"Yeah, he was. But he used to tease me about you." She admitted, turning to look at him.

Dalton looked back into her eyes before asking, "What about me?"

Jaz blushed and paused slightly before saying, "He thought I had a crush on you."

"A crush? What are we, teenagers?" Dalton chuckled softly.

"That's what I used to say to him. He was adamant though. And I guess there was some truth to it, but I never admitted that to him."

Dalton just stared at her, wondering if she would reveal more. He was curious, but he didn't want to push Jaz on the topic of Elijah, especially knowing that she had talked about him with Xander today.

He wanted her to _want_ to talk about Elijah.

The movie continued to play while they still sat there, still not really watching it, but not talking either.

Dalton moved his arm to lay across the back of the couch, behind where she was sitting, and it was as if Jaz drew more strength and gained more confidence from his closeness. She turned towards him, cocooned between his body and his arm, tucked her feet up underneath her, took a deep breath and began to talk.

"Elijah used to think he could read my mind, but it was pretty hit and miss. Sometimes he couldn't be further from the truth and then other times he was right on the money. I never, ever confirmed or denied anything about you, but he thought he was psychic on that front."

Dalton smiled softly at Jaz's words, waiting to see if she continued. When she didn't he teased her gently, "Maybe one day you can fill me in on more of Elijah's mindreading."

Jaz just nodded, staring into space again.

Just when Dalton was about to get up to get them a drink, Jaz started to speak again. She had been sitting there battling with whether to talk more about Elijah.

If she was going to talk to anyone other than Xander, it was always going to be with Adam.

"Elijah was the first person who ever made me feel like I had a family. He was the first person to ever make me laugh when I didn't want to, be affectionate when I didn't know I wanted him to be, tell me his secrets when I didn't want to know them, and tried to coax my secrets out, even when I gave him nothing. And sometimes he just plain pissed me off… but in the best way."

Jaz paused again to take a long deep breath before continuing, "I see him in my nightmares. Sometimes just dead on the floor, or in my arms when I caught him. Sometimes the gun is in my own hand, and sometimes…"

She drifted off at that point, not yet ready to share other components of her nightmares.

Dalton stayed silent, wanting to give her the opportunity to get anything else off her chest.

After another small pause, Jaz continued very softly in her deep, raspy voice, with a small trace of a tremble in it, "Some days I'm angry at him for leaving me. Some days I'm angry that he was killed instead of me."

Dalton felt the blood drain from his face as he listened to her.

"I was right behind him, it could have been me. I thought it should have been me. His family are devastated. They loved him. He had so many people that loved him. My family wouldn't even notice if I was gone."

Dalton wanted to tread lightly here so he took a couple of breaths before asking her gently, "Do you still think it should have been you?"

Jaz struggled to find the words, "I… I umm – I don't necessarily think it should have been me. But I know it should never have been him." Looking down at her hands, twiddling her fingers around each other, clearly uncomfortable, she tried to continue, "Xander reminded me today that the job we do is not subjective. It doesn't pick and choose its targets, and as bitter a pill that is to swallow, it's what we signed up for. I know that you guys have tried to talk to me about this before, but hearing it from Xander was different. It was completely objective. He didn't know Elijah, and he doesn't really know me either."

Jaz just shrugged, "I don't know if this makes sense, it's hard to explain."

Dalton tilted his head in understanding, and reached out to lay a hand over hers, "Actually, it makes a lot of sense."

Jaz looked up at him questioningly.

Dalton looked down at his hand covering hers and gave them a squeeze, "I talked to Xander today about the guilt I feel over Elijah's death. That he was under my command and followed my orders. That maybe it was my order that got him killed."

"Top, no." Jaz said to him instinctively, neither of them noticing that she addressed him as her CO, "We both know that Elijah could be a little reckless. Sometimes it paid off, other times… well…"

Jaz moved herself so she was facing him directly and moved one of her hands from under his to lay on his chest.

"You can't carry that guilt around. It wasn't your fault he got killed. It was the asshole that shot him, plain and simple."

A ghost of a smile crossed Dalton's face as he moved a hand to intertwine his fingers with hers, still laying on his chest, "That's pretty much what Xander said."

"Huh? He should be a shrink."

After a moments silence, both buried in their own thoughts with their hands still entwined, Dalton said tentatively, "In acknowledgment of our honestly, I also told Xander that I felt awful that you lost your best friend, and how hard it was to see you so devastated."

Jaz felt her heart pound at that, and didn't know what to say straight away. Adam had talked about her to Xander? He had been worried enough to talk about her to Xander? What did that mean exactly?

Pushing those thoughts down for now, she looked him right in the eyes, "We all lost Elijah that day. We all lost something that day. Yeah, I lost my best friend, and I won't ever forget him, but I think it's time to stop blaming ourselves, to stop feeling guilty. I want to remember him as the lovable idiot he was, always making fun of us and himself, always making us laugh. I don't want the last image of him in my head to be him lying in my arms. I want it to be that big, annoying smile of his. His all-knowing smile."

Dalton listened to her incredulously and remembered their talk about Hossein at the lake in front of his cabin. There he had talked her down from her guilt. Here she was doing the same for him.

They both had their own issues where Elijah was concerned, but she was right. They needed to move forward. They needed to honour Elijah's memory and remember the sacrifice he made for his country. It had only been a couple of sessions with Xander, and he knew that miracles weren't going to happen straight away, but he already felt like they were paying off, for both of them.

He lifted her hand off his chest and brought it up to his mouth to kiss it gently. Holding her gaze, seeing the sheen of unshed tears behind them, he gathered her to his chest and held on tight. He lowered his head to press his lips against her forehead and then buried his nose in her hair, just breathing her in.

"He did have an annoying smile." He whispered into her hair, smiling softly at the memory of their fallen teammate.

Jaz didn't respond, but she didn't need to. She lay her head on his chest and listened to the beating of his heart. It was both comforting and hypnotic, lulling her into a sense of security that she was pretty sure only he could provide.

They fell asleep like that, right there on the couch. Comforted by each other and relieved after sharing and expelling their mutual guilt. Not to say it was gone completely, it would never be gone completely.

* * *

Touring the monuments the next day was both enjoyable and humbling. There were so many of them that they only got around to half of them, deciding to save the others for another day. The National World War II Memorial was of particular interest to this team. They were silent as they wandered around, this one hitting quite close to home for all of them.

Jaz paused for a long time in front of the Freedom Wall, where 4,048 gold stars pay tribute to American lives lost at war, with each star representing 100 Americans. In front of that wall a stone reads, "Here we mark the price of war."

Jaz stood in front of that stone for a long while, thinking only of Elijah, and his sacrifice for his country and its freedom. Most people would never even know of Elijah's sacrifice, most people will never be aware of the battles he fought and the enemies he put down and most people will never know how or where he died.

But she did. Her team did. And those that matter did.

It was that thought and this memorial, while not linked directly to Elijah that brought her a sense of comfort. Of knowing that her best friend died for a purpose. And as much as she misses him, and always would, he would want her to move on and be happy.

Xander had said to her yesterday that moving on didn't mean forgetting, it just meant remembering that you have a life to live. Those words had hit her hard. She wanted to live her best life for Elijah and honour the amazing human he had been.

Noticing her lingering in front of the wall, Dalton left her alone for a few minutes before appearing by her side. Seeing the unshed tears in her eyes, but the small smile her lips couldn't hold back, he put his arm around her shoulders, pulled her towards him and pressed his lips softly to her temple.

Jaz couldn't help but briefly bury her head in his chest, drawing the comfort she needed from his familiar scent and the warmth he always emanated. Once again she could hear his heart pounding in his chest and knew that this was emotional for him also.

They stayed like that for a few moments, before pulling away from each other. Still wary of being seen in DC by anyone that mattered, their PDA had to be very brief. But here at this memorial, with the emotion it evoked in the whole team, that PDA had been entirely necessary.

McG appeared by her other side and just as caught up in the emotion as Jaz and Dalton were, he too put his arm around Jaz's shoulder and in turn she put her arm around his waist as they drew comfort from each other.

Amir stood silently, respecting the significance of this moment for the rest of his team, and also silently remembering those he had seen sacrifice their lives.

* * *

Jaz wasn't used to needing anyone. She had been so strong and alone for so long, she barely knew of any other way. So this need for Dalton – _for Adam_ , that kept presenting itself, was a strange concept. Every time anything got emotional at all, or even when it didn't these days, her need for him grew exponentially.

She was still shy about her feelings for him, still slightly stumped about them too, and still amazed that he seemed to feel the same right back.

But she was in no way surprised by her physical need for him. That was something she had always been aware of, right back to when she first met him.

She would have had to have been blind not to notice that he was an attractive man. His ruggedness and raw masculinity had been right up her ally. It was only after getting to know him more personally by his actions on and off missions, on the odd occasions he opened up to her, and observing the level of integrity that he lived by, that the steadily increasing attraction had set in.

Even though she had been in denial about it for so long, she knew that it had been building since day one.

This is what was running through her head as they sat in the hotel bar for dinner that evening. She was lost in her thoughts as the three guys carried on a conversation around her, oblivious to her introspection, which was definitely for the best. If McG got wind of what she was thinking about, she would never live it down.

All through dinner though, she couldn't help but look at Adam whenever she could. Sometimes sneakily, other times she was quite blatant, and sometimes he was looking right back at her with the same look of want, need, fire and heat that she knew her own eyes were emitting.

She needed this man like no other before. And that scared her.

* * *

Entering their bedrooms separately after dinner, Dalton had seen the looks Jaz had been directing his way all evening. He's pretty sure McG and Amir had seen them too.

He knew that the look in Jaz's eyes; the heat and the want on fire in them, had been reflected in his own. The last day or two had been emotional, but talking things out with her, sharing thoughts with her, made him want her all the more.

As soon as Dalton opened the adjoining door separating their bedrooms, Jaz lunged at him placing her hands on his cheeks and kissing him fervently and impatiently.

Stumbling backwards slightly from her forward momentum, Dalton gripped her around the waist for balance, but didn't hesitate to return her hungry kisses, clutching her even closer as he did so.

Jaz grasped his t-shirt and lifted it over his head, only parting their lips long enough to remove it. Reaching for her own t-shirt, she lifted it over her head, desperate to feel his skin against her own.

As her lips found his once again, she felt his hands running up and down the length of her back. The feel of his strong hands against her smooth skin made her tingle all over, needing to feel his touch all the more.

Pulling back to kiss the length of his neck and down to his chest, she reached her hands down to undo the button and lower the fly of his jeans. Making short work of removing them, she quickly followed with her own jeans, leaving them both in just their underwear, lips pressed back together and panting.

"I need you so badly, Adam." She breathed into his mouth.

"Take what you need, Jaz." He breathed back, feeling the same urgency that she was feeling.

Removing the last remnants of their clothing, Jaz lowered them to the carpet, right there in the middle of the room, too impatient to venture any further.

Foregoing any foreplay, her need too strong to hold back any longer, she pushed him down so that he was lying on his back. She straddled his hips and lowered herself down onto his length, groaning as she felt him fill her up.

She let herself enjoy that feeling for a few seconds before she started to move her hips

Dalton was completely mesmerised by her, not able to take his eyes off her as she raised and lowered herself on his cock, riding him so that he filled her to the hilt with each thrust.

In moments like these, she was completely uninhibited with him, and it made her all the more attractive. It had never been like this with anyone else.

Jaz knew she wasn't going to last long. She'd been waiting for this moment for hours. She rode Adam faster, feeling the throbbing ache within her craving more and more attention.

Dalton reached up to cup her breasts, massaging them, paying particular attention to her nipples and listening intently as her moans got louder. Lowering one hand to allow his thumb to rub against her clit, she whimpered in pleasure, knowing that she was about to come.

Within seconds, Jaz's whimpers became cries as she began to convulse on top of him, throwing her head back, her hands laying on his chest for support, allowing her body to seek the solace it had craved. Over and over she shuddered for a long time.

To further assist in her release and his own, Dalton quickly rolled them over so she was lying on her back with him covering her and he pounded into her, fast and hard.

Her body continued to writhe underneath him and he soon joined her in release as he felt himself come hard and fast, buried deep within her.

Thrusting into her, the combination of her inner walls vibrating and his cock pulsating, they both rode out the pleasure they were both feeling, before Dalton collapsed on top of her, both of them feeling spent after their brief, but intense interlude.

* * *

Finally making it into bed after a quick shower, Dalton and Jaz lay side by side, fingers entwined just thinking over their last two days.

With a lot of thoughts running through her head, Jaz started to giggle to herself, making Dalton turn over on his side to face her, "Out with it."

She looked hesitant at first to share her thoughts, but decided it wouldn't hurt, they could both have a giggle.

"Well, it's no secret that Elijah enjoyed, umm… perving on McG."

Dalton huffed out a laugh in response. It certainly hadn't been a secret. Elijah made no apologies for his appreciation of a fit and healthy male body, but all of them, including McG, knew it was harmless. McG even played up to it sometimes, purposefully flexing his biceps or his abs, making Elijah both laugh and drool at the same time.

Jaz continued, "He called McG his very own Ken doll. And when he might have, umm – just once - caught me looking at you after you came out of the shower in just a towel, he nicknamed you as my Barbie doll. He would say we had our very own Ken and Barbie, living in our own Quonset dollhouse."

Jaz looked slightly embarrassed revealing this to Dalton, but she couldn't help but continue to smile at the memories that Elijah had left her with.

Dalton watched the pink tinge on her cheeks spread to her neck and he couldn't help but smile with her.

"Ok, two things. Firstly, I can't believe you both objectified me as a blonde doll. And secondly, he only caught you looking at me once? _Once_?"

"Get over yourself." Jaz admonished, but couldn't help but laugh with him.

Leaning over her to claim her lips, he teased right back, "Because I was definitely looking at you more than once."

"What?" She asked into his mouth as his lips moved on hers.

"We'll save those stories for another time." He promised, as his lips completely took over her own, making her melt into him and forget all remnants of the conversation they were currently having and everything else but the feel of him on top of her.

* * *

 **Ok, I'm hoping that made up for taking so long between chapters... Just a couple of notes:**

 **1\. After reading a LOT of FF about this show, it appears to have become canon that Elijah was gay, so I went with that too.**

 **2\. I used to watch Under The Dome, and for anyone else who did, you would know that Mike Vogel played a character called Barbie, so it made me giggle to use that as a throwaway in this by Elijah.**

 **Thank you so much for reading and (hopefully) commenting. I am still _heavily_ invested in this story, and I promise it won't be another three weeks until I update again. Much love to you all XXX**


	32. Chapter 32

**Here's the next chapter for you to enjoy. You might need to re-read the last chapter for a bit of a refresher.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 32**

Jaz stirred in bed the next morning to the sound of Dalton talking to someone at the door.

Freaking out, she tried to bury herself further into the bed to hide herself from view, but upon hearing Dalton chuckling, she peeked her head out to see what was happening.

"It's ok, you can come out of hiding." He reassured her, and then she noticed him carrying a tray towards the bed.

"Is that breakfast?"

"Well I thought that since it was Sunday, we could skip breakfast with McG and Amir. They can have a man date, while we enjoy room service."

"I like your thinking." Jaz commended him, as she moved herself into a sitting position before noticing how much food Adam had ordered, "How much do you think I eat?"

"I've been living with you for the best part of three years, Jaz. I know how much you eat." He said dryly.

Jaz tilted her head, "Valid… but this is still a lot of food."

"Well… I thought that we could have some fun with some of this…" He drawled, as he removed the covers from the plates.

The tray was laden with eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, pancakes, strawberries, chocolate sauce and cream. Jaz looked it all over before raising her eyes to meet his, seeing the cheeky suggestion in his eyes.

She mentally shook herself. This was her Captain. This was the Commanding Officer of Special Operations Group 7, the Ground Force Commander of an Omega team, suggesting that they have some _fun_ with breakfast. Before this bout of leave, she would have never guessed that this side of him existed.

There was a lot about him that she wouldn't have guessed existed.

Still holding his gaze, she plucked one of the strawberries from a plate and slowly and seductively bit into it, not being able to stop some of its juice running down her chin.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from her right then. She watched his tongue sweep over his lips in anticipation of what was to come.

Still holding each other's gaze, they were both startled when Adam's phone began to ring, and it took a couple of rings for them to realise what the noise was.

Seeing the caller ID soon sobered Dalton up quick smart though, and he reluctantly turned his back on Jaz to answer.

"Deputy Director."

Jaz froze. She's not sure why, no one was watching them, but just the thought of Patricia sensing that she was there made her mildly panic.

"Hi Adam, I hope I haven't woken you up."

"Not at all, just having some breakfast."

Jaz nearly choked on the strawberry still in her mouth, so much so, that Dalton walked into Jaz's room through the adjoining door to escape the current scenario in his room.

Not moving a muscle, literally not changing her position until Dalton walked back through the door only a minute later, Jaz tried to calm herself down. The Deputy Director didn't know that she was there in Dalton's room with him. She didn't know that she was in Dalton's _bed_ , and she definitely didn't know what they had been about to do with breakfast.

Looking up at him as he walked back in, she didn't even need to ask what the call had been about before he began to speak.

"Patricia wants us all to go to her condo for dinner. Noah and Hannah will be there too."

Jaz paled visibly, but just nodded her head. As if they could refuse the deputy director.

Dalton sighed and sat down on the bed, "It's going to be fine, Jaz." Trying to convince himself as much as he was her. But as he looked at all the food laid out on the bed in front of them, he couldn't help but notice that his appetite had disappeared. Completely.

* * *

The four members of the Omega team currently in DC, arrived together at Patricia's condo early that evening to find that Hannah and Noah were already there, having gone straight from the office.

After greeting each other, Patricia took it upon herself to make sure everyone had a drink. Everyone was gathered on the balcony and the smell of the meat on the grill cooking was tantalising everyone's tastebuds.

"So, I know you're not here first and foremost in the tourist capacity, but how are you all liking DC?" Patricia asked.

"It's been great so far Ma'am." McG answered for the group.

"Please, we're about to have several drinks together, I think you can call me Patricia."

"Well in that case, he's Joseph." Amir quipped, making the rest of them laugh.

"Ahh, I've heard that story, McGuire. Between that and your loose belt buckle in Seville, you certainly keep us entertained."

"I do what I can Ma'am… uhhh, Patricia."

Patricia gave him one of her trademark smirks before focusing on Dalton, "Adam, give me hand with the grill?"

As Dalton and Patricia moved away from the group, Jaz couldn't help but follow them with her eyes.

She was nervous.

She could take on men twice her size and weight, she could put down Iranian terrorists with her bare hands, she could shoot someone with pinpoint accuracy from hundreds of metres away without a second thought and she could hold her own in a boxing ring with just about anyone.

But this one little dinner, made her more nervous than all of that. Give her the terrorists any day!

Sensing her discomfort, McG came and stood beside her, "You all good there Jazzy?" He asked under his breath.

Jaz was bluntly honest, "I need to shoot something."

Nearly choking on his beer, McG tried to reassure her, "It's only a couple of hours. You got this. We can go and shoot shit tomorrow."

She knew he was right. She had decided on the trip over here that she would just stay right away from Dalton on this evening. The further away from him she was, the easier it would be. If she had to stay on the opposite side of the room from him, or in this case the balcony, she would.

* * *

"I know it's a sensitive topic, but how is Jaz coping with her appointments with Captain Martin?" Patricia asked Dalton as he turned the meat over on the grill.

"From what I understand, she seems to be coping ok." Dalton answered evenly, not lifting his head from the grill.

"She hasn't said much about them?"

Dalton shrugged, "McG has been the driving force behind all of this, but I expect to get briefed by Xander at some stage."

"Right." Patricia answered, after observing him for a few moments, "Well hopefully she's getting the help she needs."

"I have no doubt she is." Dalton agreed.

"What about you? Are you getting the help you need?"

At that, Dalton finally lifted his head to look at her with a small smirk on his face, "Yeah, all good. You know me."

"I do. And that's why I want to make sure you're ok."

"Honestly, I'm ok. It's helping. Xander is very good at what he does. He's good people."

Patricia looked at him with those eyes that were both trying to get a read on him, but also genuinely cared about his well-being.

"I'm glad. For you _and_ Jaz. You're both invaluable members of this team."

When she saw Dalton's face soften into a smile, she asked him, "Are you ok here if I go and top up drinks?"

"Please, I'm the grill king. This is what I do." Dalton retorted as Patricia just smiled at him and walked back to the others.

As he watched her walk away, he let his gaze continue to where Jaz was standing talking to McG. He was purposely staying away from her this evening, and he knew she was doing the same. They hadn't discussed their game plan at all, other than to just act 'normal'. But it was easy to see they were both approaching this in the same way.

Just a few hours of keeping their distance, and it would be smooth sailing. But he had to admit, he already missed talking to her, teasing her and touching her. He wondered how they had gone all this time just being teammates and friends, when now, in such a short period of time, they had become so much more.

Although she was at the other end of the balcony, Jaz's gaze briefly met his and while she looked measured and at ease, he knew better. She was nervous. And so was he.

He wanted to reassure her somehow, but didn't dare linger too long on her. Instead he gave her a super quick but subtle smile, saw in her eyes that she had seen it, and turned back to the grill as if nothing had happened.

They had this.

* * *

Despite Dalton and Jaz's personal conundrum, dinner was a fun affair. There was a lot of food, plenty of drinks and they all enjoyed each other's company.

It was great to get to know Noah a bit more in this setting. Over the Toughbook cam, or through their comms, it was usually a serious or intense situation, so to see him loosen up with a few drinks was fun.

Hannah and Amir's relationship wasn't a secret, but they weren't over the top on their PDA either. They felt a little strange in front of their boss, both of their bosses actually, but they were sitting next to each other and the happiness in their eyes was there for them all to see.

Dalton and Jaz sat at opposite ends of the table. Jaz had purposely sat on the same side of the table as Dalton so that their eyes couldn't meet and it made it easier to fight the temptation to look at him.

Eventually, McG and Jaz stood up and bid their farewells. McG had ordered an Uber for the two of them and just got the notification it had arrived. Jaz thought leaving separately to Dalton would be a good idea.

"We have to be at the DIA in the morning, so I better get Jaz back to the hotel to get her beauty sleep."

"So you can watch Netflix you mean, without the chill."

"Hey, I have plenty of chill."

Everyone laughed at McG and Jaz and then Patricia stood up to walk them to the door.

They said their goodbyes, Jaz and Dalton stayed on the opposite side of the room from each other to do so and McG made plans to meet the others for breakfast in the morning.

"See you guys tomorrow," Dalton called out as the others waved in response, following Patricia to the front door.

Dalton and Amir stayed for another hour and had a couple more drinks with Noah, Hannah and Patricia. Amir wasn't drinking alcohol of course, but Dalton was enjoying his whiskey.

He wasn't drunk, but the alcohol had helped to take the edge off his trepidation. He was a master of deceit when it came to serving his country, but in front of Patricia was a whole other kettle of fish. At least with Jaz having gone back to the hotel, the pull to look at her was temporarily diverted, but his need for her was as strong as ever.

When Amir suggested heading back to the hotel, Dalton was more than ready to leave. And more than ready to get back to Jaz.

He let Amir say his goodbyes to Hannah, shook Noah's hand and walked to the front door with Patricia.

"I'll check in on you later in the week. There's a couple of things I need to run by you when we get a moment." Patricia said.

"Yeah, no worries. I'm here for a bit longer. We all are."

"See you soon Adam." She said as Amir joined them, bidding his own farewell to the Deputy Director.

As they walked outside to their Uber, Patricia just watched the two of them walk away, squinting her eyes for a long moment, before turning to go back inside with Noah and Hannah.

Sitting down in the car, Dalton let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Amir just looked over at him, "Piece of cake, Top."

* * *

Dalton entered his hotel room and sat down on the bed. He leaned over with his elbows resting on his knees and just took a few deep breaths.

He didn't like having to lie. He didn't like lying to Patricia. He didn't like asking his team to lie for him. And he didn't like putting Jaz in this position either.

But as much as he hated all that, he knew that whatever he felt for Jaz trumped that.

And that scared him.

After putting his phone on charge, he stood up to knock tentatively on their adjoining door and checked the handle when he got no answer to find it was unlocked. When he stepped inside, Jaz was nowhere to be seen, but he could hear the shower running in the bathroom.

Without even thinking, he kicked off his shoes, opened the door to the bathroom and walked in.

Jaz sensed his presence immediately and turned around, momentarily freezing while washing shampoo out of her hair.

She watched him walk up to the shower, open up the door and walk straight in, clothes and all.

Not saying a word, he reached for her hair and helped her rinse off the last of the shampoo, watching as the apple scented suds washed down the drain hole. Even after it was all gone, he left his fingers entwined in her hair with his thumbs caressing her cheeks, tilting her face to look up at him.

His crystal blue eyes searched her big brown irises. He wasn't quite sure what he was looking for, but the feeling of solace that they found in each other's gaze washed over them as they held eye contact.

With the water pouring over them and Dalton still fully clothed, he very slowly and deliberately moved his face towards hers until their noses and foreheads rested on each other.

They just breathed each other in, relishing in their closeness, and very slowly, very gently tilted their heads to press their lips together.

Holding each other there for a long time, Dalton felt Jaz grip on to his waist. Their lips didn't move away from each other, but they didn't make a move to deepen or intensify the kiss just yet.

They just breathed and held on tight in acknowledgment of their situation and the enormity of it.

Having dinner with the DIA crew had certainly reminded them of that, not that it was ever far from their minds.

Slowly pulling away and looking up into his eyes, Jaz started to peel Dalton's saturated Henley off of him. She left it in a puddle on the base of the shower as she targeted his jeans next. When she had stripped him of all his clothes, she picked up the body wash and started to soap him all over.

With slow strokes of her soft, but strong hands, she glided them all over his body, watching as his skin goose bumped under her fingers, despite the hot water flowing down on them.

The soap suds washed off his body and down the drain, as did the tension that they had both felt from this evening's soiree. Feeling the comfort and calm that they both provided each other settle over them both, their hands began to explore the other, desperate for each other's touch.

The remainder of their shower was spent melting in to each other. Their actions non-verbally reaffirming their feelings for each other; feelings that were so strong that neither of them knew quite how to express them or deal with them just yet.

* * *

The following morning found Jaz once again in Xander's office for their third session.

Xander had been curious as to how Jaz had coped after the last session when she had discussed Elijah at length. Jaz had been honest and admitted that it had brought a lot of the emotion up to the forefront again, but having the weekend to reminisce, remember and find some sort of peace had allowed her to reflect on the many happy memories that she had with Elijah. Being with her team at the War Memorial had been poignant, but it also allowed them to strengthen their bond further as they had reflected together.

Xander was glad to hear what Jaz had to say, "Sounds like sharing some of your thoughts, has been really helping you."

Jaz smirked knowingly at him, "Who would have thought, right?"

"Well I know you have a great team, and a great CO. Not everyone is as lucky to find themselves in a team like yours. You said it yourself to me in Incirlik that you were scared that you could lose them. My advice is make every day with them count; make every moment with them count. In a job like yours, like you have witnessed yourself, you never what the next moment will hold."

Jaz let that sink in and knew Xander was right. What she wouldn't give for more time with her best friend; more time to witness his annoying smile and overly affectionate hugs.

What Xander didn't know was that it had Jaz thinking about Adam too.

 _How much time did she have with him?_

Interrupting her introspection, Xander questioned her quietly, "What would you like to talk about today?"

Before she even responded, he held his hand up to the smirk on her face "Sorry, let me rephrase that. What do you feel you need to talk about today?"

Jaz looked down at her hands quickly, having already thought about this on her way to the appointment today. Everything on the list that they had made during their first appointment left her with a feeling of dread when thinking about discussing them. But the bullet needed to be bitten, none of the topics on the remainder of the list were going to be easy.

"Arthur."

"Ok, let's talk about Arthur." Xander said gently.

* * *

"Hoffman."

"Ok, let's talk about Hoffman." Xander nodded in agreement to Adam later that day.

"I killed him." Dalton revealed bluntly.

Again, Xander nodded his head, "I read the report from the Deputy Director."

Dalton let himself gather his thoughts before he spoke again, not wanting to shoot his mouth off unnecessarily. Although he knew that if he needed to, he could do that with Xander.

After another minute or so, with his gaze lowered, he ventured slowly, "When people target my team, _my_ team; people I care about… that doesn't sit well with me. He made it very clear that he would be taking Patricia down with him, not to mention what he did to Preach and the jabs he took at Amir and Jaz too. He had been watching us and spying on us for who knows how long. He shouldn't have been allowed to get away with all of that."

Xander watched Dalton's very measured facial expressions but he would bet on his life that beneath his beard, his jaw was clenched tight.

"Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?" Xander asked evenly.

Dalton's eyes shot up to meet Xander's quickly, before looking away again. He didn't offer an answer just yet.

"Adam, I'm not here to question you, your judgement or your decisions. From what I've heard and read about Hoffman, he was a nasty son of a bitch. I do know though, that you and I have talked before about the darkness that can set in. I want to make sure that it doesn't consume you and I'm guessing that is something you want to prevent too."

Taking a couple of deep breaths to keep the anger he felt towards Hoffman at bay, Dalton raised his eyes to meet Xander's again and just nodded slowly.

"Does it keep you up at night?"

Dalton nodded his head again before answering quietly, "Sometimes."

He had worked on his darkness before, in fact he had worked on it with Xander before. But as much as he hated to admit it, Hoffman had gotten to him. The quips he had directed towards his team, had been one thing, but putting Preach and Patricia's life in danger had sent him dark. And that was a place he needed help getting out of.

"Well you cannot heal what you don't acknowledge, so now that you've done that, let's revisit some of the strategies we've used before, and maybe look at some new ones too. Sound good?" Xander asked gently.

Dalton smirked, "Good? Sure, let's go with that."

* * *

Walking back to the hotel after spending the afternoon at the shooting range, just like he had promised, McG looked sideways at Jaz.

He knew by the small smirk on her face that she was pretty happy with herself after schooling him at the range. He was no slouch himself, you didn't get to be in an Omega team otherwise, but Jaz could outshoot anyone, anywhere.

A lesser man might feel inferior to a woman being better than him. But not him; not anyone on their team. It wasn't about gender, it was about who was best for the job. And he was glad to see Jaz looking happy after a rough weekend reminiscing about Elijah and then a tense dinner on her behalf, hiding from Patricia.

But McG needed to ask her something, and he did it in the only way Jaz would expect him to – directly.

"Have you and Top tried sleeping apart yet to see if the nightmares have lessened?"

Jaz stopped dead still on the sidewalk and it took a couple of steps for McG to realise.

The look she gave him when he turned around had him putting his hands up and asking, "What?"

"I don't think they quite heard you in Australia." She retorted sarcastically.

"G'day mate."

"Your accents suck."

"Yeah, not my strong point," he admitted, "But back to my question…"

Jaz exhaled, "None of your business."

"When it comes to your happiness Jazzy, it's always my business." McG surmised.

Rolling her eyes at him, but falling into step with him once again, she admitted quietly, "Not yet."

"Well no pressure from me, and I'm assuming that Xander doesn't know your… sit-u-ation with Top," McG overly enunciated, "but sooner or later he's going to ask you about your sleeping and the nightmares…" He drifted off.

Jaz knew he was right, even if she hated admitting that McG was right. Despite that though, McG had helped her to get to this point, had helped her get the appointments with Xander, and was being super supportive of whatever was happening between her and Adam.

"You're right." She said very quietly.

Putting his arm around her shoulder he smirked, "I'm sorry, can you say that again, I don't think they quite heard you in Australia…"

She punched him in the stomach and laughed when he groaned and doubled over in pain.

He might be a dick, but he had a heart of gold.

* * *

Dalton could see that Jaz wasn't quite herself over dinner. He locked eyes with McG a couple of times, who shrugged when he saw the question in Dalton's eyes.

Jaz was never a loud or extroverted person, but she was unusually quieter.

Amir was at Hannah's, but they were all meeting for breakfast in the morning before spending another day exploring together.

After dinner, McG excused himself early to get in a few more episodes of his latest Netflix binge watch.

When Jaz and Dalton got in the elevator to head to their rooms, Jaz lifted her hand to the buttons and hesitated before hitting the level to the rooftop pool.

Dalton raised his eyebrows slightly and asked softly, "Need a swim?"

Jaz met his gaze, but didn't offer any further explanation just yet.

When they arrived at the rooftop floor, Jaz strode out in front of Dalton and settled herself in one of the loungers by the pool. Laying her head back and looking skyward, she took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly.

Dalton sat on the lounger next to hers and said knowingly, "You need the stars."

Jaz just nodded, her gaze remaining skyward. Talking about Arthur with Xander today had her craving the outdoors. She needed to feel fresh air entering her lungs and the breeze on her cheeks, all underneath the night sky's giant canvas.

The stars helped her feel calm, reminding her that the big wide world out there still kept spinning and moving forward.

As if reading her mind, Dalton reached his hand out to grasp Jaz's and let their joined palms hang between them, inconspicuously. His thumb rubbed against her hand, instantly flooding her with a feeling of calmness.

Looking over at him with a soft smile she whispered, "Tell me about the stars."

He smiled back at her and his gaze lingered on hers for a few seconds. His crystal blue eyes, as deep as the ocean bore right into her own chocolate coloured eyes, and she felt like he was looking right into her soul.

They managed to tear their gaze away from each other and turn their heads back skyward. With their fingers still entwined, he began to tell her stories about the stars; the stars that were light years away but still twinkling, reminding them both that the world and the universe are so much bigger than themselves.

* * *

 **Hehehe... I had to get Australia in there somehow! I have more plans for that topic too ;)**

 **The next chapter delves more into the topics of Arthur and Hoffman, and of course Jalton's sleeping habits.**

 **What did you think? I would love to hear from you.**

 **Have a great week everyone XXX**


	33. Chapter 33

**Here you go! I've had this written for a little while, but I have re-written it and edited it over and over. I think this is the happiest I will be with it, so see what you think. You might to re-read the last chapter if you don't remember what happened :)**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 33**

Still laying on the loungers next to the roof top pool, Adam and Jaz's hands were still entwined but they were now silent.

Adam had shared stories about the stars with Jaz, stories that he had learnt long ago as a kid; the same stories that Jaz had missed out on hearing, her childhood being nothing to write home about.

The cool night air was reminiscent of the cool nights in Incirlik and when Jaz closed her eyes, she could almost imagine she was there. The place she felt most at home.

Taking long, deep breaths, filling her lungs with crisp oxygen, she felt her eyes grow heavy with sleep and would love nothing more than to fall asleep up on this rooftop with Adam… which reminded her of her conversation with McG earlier that day.

Clearing her throat but with her eyes remaining on the stars, she started softly, "Hey, umm – McG mentioned that maybe we should try sleeping separately…" She drifted off, partly because she already knew that she didn't want to sleep without Adam by her side and partly because she still didn't want to think about the nightmares.

With his own eyes also remaining on the stars, Dalton said slowly, "He's probably right."

It wasn't hard to see where McG was coming from, but the thought of sleeping without Jaz by his side wasn't particularly appealing either.

"Maybe we can try tomorrow night…"

Jaz wasn't ready to get into why tonight she needed to be by his side. She wasn't ready to admit that talking about Arthur with Xander today had her feeling uneasy on the inside, and she was looking forward to nothing more than being wrapped in Adam's arms tonight.

"Yeah, let's try tomorrow."

Dalton felt the same way as Jaz. He knew realistically that this hurdle needed to be crossed. They needed to be able to sleep separately, but tonight he needed her in his arms. The darkness that seeps in when he thinks about Hoffman, which was the crux of his most recent session with Xander, only seemed to be brightened when he was with Jaz.

Jaz gave his hand a very grateful squeeze, which he returned immediately.

They remained on those loungers for a while longer, not speaking but feeling a sense of calm that the stars and each other provided.

* * *

Dalton and Jaz woke up in each other's arms the next morning, legs tangled together and both feeling warm and content.

Despite both being awake, they didn't move from their current positions, savouring this moment since they were going to sleep separately that night.

Jaz didn't lift her head from Adam's chest, in fact she buried her head even further into him, not being able to get enough of his masculine scent. The scent that was purely Adam. The scent that comforted her. The scent that she craved.

Dalton pulled her tighter against his chest and nuzzled her hair. Her softness always left him speechless. She was fit, her muscles firm and well defined and yet when she was in his arms, it was her softness that stood out for him. The part of her that completely melted in to him. The part of her that only he knew about. The part of her that made him never want to leave her side.

They needed to be up for breakfast to meet McG and Amir soon, but just couldn't quite bring themselves to let go of each other yet.

This was their favourite part of the day; the small moments when they were alone. When they didn't have to hide from the world or feign indifference. When the only thing that mattered was the way they felt about each other and the way they made each other feel.

* * *

"So where to today, kids?" McG asked through a mouthful of food at breakfast.

"How about some lessons in manners?" Amir asked, rolling his eyes.

"What?" McG asked, stuffing another mini croissant into his mouth with a big grin.

Turning his attention towards Dalton and Jaz, Amir asked "Do you feel like something indoors or outdoors?"

"Outdoors." They both replied in unison.

"Geez, now they speak the same too. What's next, matching tattoos?"

Jaz leaned over and flicked McG's ear, making him gasp in surprise to which Jaz just answered with a grin.

Dalton didn't even need to say anything – Jaz had this.

"Ok, well how about the waterfront at National Harbour? There's lots to do and see around that area that Hannah has shown me."

"Sounds great, Amir." Dalton agreed, "Let's move out in 30 mikes."

Half an hour later they made their way towards the National Harbour, in no hurry since they had the entire day free.

After wandering around for a little bit, enjoying the views of the Potomac River, they decided to hire some pedal boats, to give their legs a work out and take advantage of their location.

Amir and Jaz shared one boat, whilst Dalton and McG shared another, and being who they are, it soon turned into a competition.

"Last boat to that bridge buys dinner," McG hollered across to Amir and Jaz, pointing towards a bridge in the distance.

"What a coincidence that it's the bridge they are already closer to," Amir mumbled to Jaz, who just smirked in return.

"We've got this. What we lack in distance and lever length, we make up for in bad-assery."

"Bad-assery? I like that."

And with that, Jaz and Amir turned their legs over as fast as they could and before long they drew level with the other boat and flashed McG and Dalton big grins.

As they overtook the other two, they both felt a large splash of water and gasped as they looked over to see both Dalton and McG with their hands in the water.

"You're cheating." Amir called out.

"I don't remember setting any rules." McG fired back

Exchanging a quick look with Jaz, they both reached their own hands into the water and let fly. What started off as a race, soon turned into a water fight and they found themselves laughing so much that the mission to reach the bridge first was abandoned.

When their hour was up and it was time to return their boats, they were all saturated, but they were all laughing.

"I'm assuming that since you started the splashing as a way of sabotaging myself and Jaz, you realised you were about to be beaten and so therefore, dinner is on you two. Am I correct?" Amir challenged McG and Dalton.

"Well Top is on the big bucks, so I'm sure he's happy to cover it." McG gestured towards Dalton.

"Big bucks? You are sadly mistaken my friend. Your idea, your shout."

"Fine," McG gave in, putting his hands up in the air.

Wanting to dry off, they found a hot dog stand and sat down on the banks of the river to eat and let the sunshine dry their clothes.

The afternoon saw them taking a spin on the Capital Wheel, an observation wheel, right on the waterfront. Amir was particularly excited to be able to get some great photos.

They managed to get a capsule with only the four of them occupying it and Amir started taking photos straight away. They could see amazing views over Alexandria and some of the monuments that they had visited previously.

While McG was standing next to Amir taking some photos on his phone, Jaz went and stood next to Dalton on the opposite side of the capsule and caught him grinning.

"Something funny?"

He turned to look at her and with a smile he asked, "Do you feel like a tourist?"

Jaz laughed, "Yeah, big time. But technically, we _are_ tourists."

"True. It feels a little ridiculous though."

"I don't know, I think it's kind of fun to be able to do all this stuff together. We have a bit of downtime on base, but we live on tenterhooks, waiting for the next call. Here, we are free and easy."

A small smile spread across Dalton's face, "Free and easy, huh?"

Jaz caught on to his insinuations with a smirk, but turned a little more serious as she mumbled, "Well, not as free and easy as I'd like."

Dalton took a step closer to her so they were shoulder to shoulder. The warmth and comfort she felt from his contact instantly appeased her and when he felt her lean back into him, he whispered, "We just have to be careful for a bit longer, Jaz."

Nodding her head slowly she whispered back, "I know."

They stood like that for the rest of the ride. Right next to each other, right where they felt the most at ease.

* * *

McG was true to his word and dinner was on him.

"The lobster looks good." Amir commented, perusing the menu.

"Whoa there buddy, you're not big enough to eat a lobster, and neither is my bank account."

"Think I'll have one too." Jaz agreed.

"Make that three." Dalton chimed in.

"You'll all have salads and fucking enjoy them." McG threw back.

"You don't make friends with salad." Dalton deadpanned.

"Time for new friends." McG said with a big grin on his face, which they all couldn't help but return.

Once dinner was done – none of them had lobster, or salad – they found a bar to have a couple of drinks at before they made their back to the hotel. It wasn't late, but they had been out all day and besides, Amir wanted to go and see Hannah.

* * *

As soon as they were back at the hotel, Amir left for Hannah's and the other three headed straight for the elevators to go to their rooms.

When Dalton and Jaz said their goodnights to McG, Jaz looked at Dalton in the elevator and asked him quietly, "Come to the roof with me?"

With Dalton agreeing without a second thought, they made their way to a couple of lounge chairs to sit side by side again and Jaz was grateful that they were the only ones up there.

Knowing what she wanted to talk to him about was easy. Getting started however, was not easy at all.

After a couple of moments of silence, she turned to Dalton, curling her legs underneath herself on the chair and began to speak, "I talked to Xander about Arthur yesterday. He asked me if I had spoken to anyone else about him and other than a few brief facts, I realised that I hadn't told any of you much at all. He convinced me that I should share my thoughts; that talking to someone else as well as himself might help, and could assist in easing the nightmares."

Dalton just nodded his head, understanding where Jaz was going with this, but letting her lead the conversation.

"He said to try and write things down as they come to the forefront of my mind and take note of how I'm feeling. I want to talk to you about it, but only if that's ok with you. Otherwise I can just write it all down…"

"Jaz, of course I want you to talk to me about it. I've always wanted you to, I just never wanted to push it. You needed to be ready, and needed to _know_ that you're ready."

She nodded her head slowly, "I know this won't be easy, for either of us. And I wanted to do it up here because sometimes thinking about Tehran, just makes me feel… claustrophobic."

Dalton understood that. He knew about the stark white room she had been kept in. In all honestly though, he would have had this conversation in the middle of an Afghani prison riot, if he knew she needed to talk.

Jaz took a long deep breath and started to tell Adam everything she had told Xander the day before in that low raspy voice of hers.

"I was prepared for the physical torture, that part didn't bother me," She paused briefly and looked like she was battling with what to say next.

"My father was a prick who thought that physical abuse would appease his anger that I wasn't born a male. I learned to block that out a long time ago. But when I was beaten and Arthur found the scars that he had left behind, it felt like it gave my father some sort of power again; like I was helpless, and I hated feeling that way."

The thought of Jaz being beaten was bad enough, but Dalton couldn't help but clench his jaw and his fists tight at Jaz's confirmation of her father's physical abuse. What he wouldn't give for a few minutes alone with him. And he hated thinking of _how_ Arthur had found those scars, but he would leave that alone for now.

"There were some mind games, all the bullshit you'd expect and a gun was shot next to my eardrum. But still, it was nothing I couldn't handle."

Jaz paused and Dalton just gave her the space and time she needed to keep going.

"When he came back into the room, he showed me pictures of all of you from the airport." Again Jaz paused with a lump in her throat, reflecting on that moment.

"Knowing that you had all been identified was one of the hardest things to cope with. The fact that they had me didn't cause me nearly as much pain as knowing that they might have all of you too. He was trying to break me, trying to get me to talk, he spoke about me potentially losing the opportunity to find love, to have a family." Jaz paused as the memory of the way she felt in that moment washed over her.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, she continued earnestly, "I didn't know that I _wanted_ any of that until that very moment. And though I didn't let him see that he had shaken me, at that point in time it all seemed completely out of reach; it was all lost to me. Being in that stark white room and sensory deprived, just compounded the inevitability and hopelessness of the situation. And though I didn't doubt that you would have all tried to look for me, I was also well aware of what the protocols were."

Dalton swallowed hard, remembering the feeling of despair when it appeared all hope was lost on getting Jaz out; when it was suggested that they were going to have to leave without her. He would never, ever forget it, he still had nightmares about it now.

Jaz continued, "I was suddenly afraid of everything I could miss out on. It took me so long to find somewhere that I actually fit. I was afraid of leaving behind the only place I had ever really felt comfortable; the only family I had ever truly felt a part of. And then…"

Jaz trailed off, looking down at her lap where she was twisting her hands. She took another deep breath before continuing.

"And then, he showed me a picture of you." She looked up into Adam's face and he could see the anguish clouding her eyes.

"What was the picture, Jaz?"

"You were… you were – dead. Gunshot wound to the head. You were dead." She repeated in a whisper, barely audibly.

When she saw him frown, she continued swiftly, "I worked out pretty quickly that it was a fake. But for that split second, I nearly gave up. I wanted to. Seeing you like that, thinking that you had died trying to rescue me, made me want to die too. And at the same time I wanted to punch that smug look off his face and smash that hooked nose of his. It was that moment that I broke, that I rebuffed him in English, and that fucking pissed me off."

"Jaz, you didn't break. You still gave him nothing. You did exactly as you were trained to." Dalton tried to sooth her.

"Yeah, but it still pissed me off. I hated that he had won, that he had managed to get a reaction out of me." She still had regrets about what had happened, but learning to live with it was something she was trying to accomplish.

Steeling herself to get the next part out, she lowered her eyes before continuing quietly, "Next they carved me up. He didn't do it, he had minions to do his dirty work, the weak bastard, but I got through that by thinking of all of you; by thinking of Elijah. I went into a zone thinking that I would be seeing him soon, and that offered some small comfort to counteract the pain of never seeing my team again…"

She looked up at him, slightly nervous but wanting to be truthful, "… of never seeing _you_ again."

Dalton swallowed against the lump in his throat. Hearing all of this from Jaz was difficult. He had read her medical reports so he knew what the assholes had done to her. It had been difficult at the time from the team's perspective, not knowing how to get her out. But hearing it from Jaz's side, what she had been through both physically and emotionally, was a completely different story.

He was drawn out of his thoughts when Jaz persevered, wanting to get this all out.

"And when they got me out of there, and into that van, he insinuated that he would… well I'm sure you can imagine."

Dalton's nostrils flared at that. The thought of Jaz being hurt had made him feel sick, but wondering if _that_ had happened, made him see red. Even though she had escaped that fate, it still made his blood boil.

Jaz could see him fighting his anger. She hadn't wanted to make him angry, she just wanted to share the load, like Xander had suggested.

In a soft voice she continued, "Hearing _your_ voice and seeing _your_ face when you blew the door off of that van, was the single best moment of my life. I wasn't in great shape, but I knew I was going to be fine just then. You had all come for me and not just that, you had fought for me; against the Iranians and against our own protocols. I knew right then that losing any one of you again would break me and that's what Xander managed to get out of me in Incirlik - that I was afraid of losing you all."

Dalton wished like hell that they weren't on the roof right then; that they weren't in a public place with the possibility of being seen, because all he wanted to do was wrap her up in his arms and never let go. That's the exact same way he had felt after rescuing her in Tehran, hence the small embrace in the back of the getaway vehicle that had slightly placated that need.

 _Slightly_.

"Jaz…"

He was cut off before he could say anything else, "No it's ok, you don't have to respond or try to make me feel better. That's not what this is about. It's about sharing it with you and trying to give it less weight in my mind and less of a home in my subconscious. Does that make sense?"

Dalton had heard the same thing from Xander yesterday about his own issues, "It makes a lot of sense." He told Jaz gently, still fighting the need to touch her, but becoming aware of the feeling of assurance washing over him, knowing that she wanted to share the tough stuff, the hard stuff, the fucking awful stuff - with him.

* * *

Back in Jaz's room a little while later, sitting on the couch, Dalton had a lot on his mind.

He appreciated how hard that had been for Jaz to open up and speak to him about the events in Tehran. He knew how difficult she found it to open up to anyone. Speaking to Xander had been a massive step for her, so to then speak to him also, he knew she was making progress.

If he wanted Jaz to let him in and continue to do so, he should do the same. _He wanted to do the same._

Clearing his throat, he turned to Jaz, who was watching the TV, but he could tell she wasn't really paying attention. Lifting the remote from the couch he turned the TV off and Jaz turned to him expectantly.

"I spoke to Xander yesterday about Hoffman. He said very similar things to me as I now realise he did to you also. About how sharing my thoughts, or just talking to someone or venting to someone could help the… well whatever I'm feeling."

A look of understanding crossed Jaz's face and using one of his favourite phrases she said softly, "Talk to me."

Taking a deep breath, Adam shook his head slowly before beginning, "Hoffman – it bothered me and still bothers me at how good he was. He had clearly been watching us, spying on us, and not one of us had a fucking clue. How is that? He knew stuff about all of us and we have no idea how or why. All the sly tidbits he kept dropping and his quips about Patricia…"

He drifted off before shaking his head again, taking a deep breath and continuing, "Not to mention he used a young girl, a kid whose father he had murdered, to do his dirty work."

The involvement of any young people always got to them all. It made both of them angry just remembering the whole situation.

"Knowing our names rattled me, but I wasn't going to let him know that. But when he had a dig at you about me being your boyfriend, I admit I was completely thrown. How the hell had he seen that, when you and I had barely acknowledged a connection? I did not like that. I did not like knowing he had been watching all of us; been watching _you_."

"You know I can protect myself." Jaz interjected, trying to reassure him.

"I do know that. Of course I know that. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to protect you too."

Jaz felt a blush sweep over her face and neck. Hearing Adam speak like this, still surprised her, even though that wasn't what this was about right now.

She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as Adam continued, "He was good. He knew it, I knew it, Patricia knew it, hell – we all knew it. That, combined with his attack on Patricia and Preach, and I knew he had to be put down. He couldn't get away with all of that, and he couldn't drag Patricia down with him."

Taking another deep breath before he continued, he wondered about how what he had to say next would resonate with Jaz. He was scared to open up about this part, but a problem shared is a problem halved… or so he'd heard.

"I'm scared because I _wanted_ to kill him. I _needed_ to kill him. It's not like I haven't killed before, but this feeling was new; it was more than doing it for god and country. This had been for myself. I went to that apartment with one sole agenda. And if I had been tempted to waver from that at all, as soon as he mentioned my sister, I knew it was him or me. I was either going to kill him or die trying."

Jaz didn't know what he meant when he referenced his sister, but the glazed look in Adam's eyes had her holding back on that question for now. She knew he needed to get all of this out and off his chest, so she let him continue without interruption.

"It's how I felt that has me scared. I murdered him, pretty much in cold blood, and _at the time_ I didn't feel any remorse. It was more like… relief. And that's what has me worried. I'm worried that the darkness will completely take over one day. I'm afraid of who or what I could become. Realistically I can rationalise all of this in my head, and that's what Xander has tried to do, but it still invades my sub-conscious."

"Adam…"

She was cut off before she could say anything else, "No, like you said earlier, you don't have to respond or try to make me feel better. That's not what this is about. It's about sharing it with you and trying to give it less weight in my mind and less of a home in my subconscious. Right?"

"Right." Jaz agreed.

So instead of verbally comforting him, she stood up from her position on the couch and sat herself down on his lap. Placing her hands on his cheeks and burying her fingertips in his blond hair, she leaned over and kissed him softly on his forehead, followed by another peck on his nose and finishing with a lingering but tender kiss on his lips.

She felt him place his arms around her to hold her closer against his body, and they took comfort in their proximity to each other, just holding one another.

These conversations hadn't been easy, both telling them and hearing them, but they both sensed a greater level of intimacy between them as a result of sharing their weight.

Intimacy wasn't just about the physical; it was the mental and emotional position that only some relationships are able to advance to. It was being able to be completely free in that person's presence, and having someone understand your mind and how it works.

It was clear to both of them that their relationship was certainly on a clear path in that direction.

* * *

Still sitting curled up together on the couch, they knew they would have to try and get some sleep soon.

Separately.

Neither of them were looking forward to it. Not just because of the threat of nightmares, but also because sleeping side-by-side was their favourite thing to do. They hadn't slept apart since Jaz left the cabin to visit Elijah's family, and that had been excruciating.

It wasn't going to get any easier so even though it was with reluctance, Jaz unfolded herself from Adam's lap and stood up.

Looking at him still sitting on the couch, she held a hand out to him, "It's now or never right?"

Accepting her hand, Dalton got up himself to stand in front of her. Looking down into her beautiful face, the face that looked somewhat lighter after their shared grievances, a thought suddenly came to him.

"Let's leave the adjoining door open. That way if either of us has a nightmare, we'll be able to hear it."

"I like that."

"I'll be right next door," Dalton assured her before he bent his head to kiss her lingeringly.

Wanting to lose herself in that kiss, wanting to prolong it as much as she could, Jaz wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight.

Being with him was a sanctuary, it's where she felt most safe. And while she didn't need the protection, confident enough in her own abilities, the feeling of just _being_ with someone, was the best feeling in the world.

Tilting her head up, to look into his eyes, she studied the features on his face as if committing them to memory. She felt a little ridiculous, he was only going to be in the next room – _with the door open_.

Nevertheless, she couldn't deny the pull on her heart knowing that she wouldn't be snuggling into his warmth tonight, and when she looked into his crystal blue eyes, she knew he felt the same way.

With small sighs and deep breaths, they pulled away from each other and smiled at themselves for feeling so reluctant to separate.

Knowing it was just prolonging the inevitable, Adam squeezed her hand and whispered, "Goodnight Jaz," before walking into his own room but remembering to leave the door ajar.

They both got into their respective beds and lay in the dark thinking.

Thinking about how sharing their demons had actually lifted a small weight from their chests.

Thinking of their current situation and how right it felt to be together.

Thinking of each other, just a few metres away, either side of that adjoining door.

With those thoughts, they both drifted off to sleep; safe in their own beds and safe in the knowledge that even if the nightmares did prevail, the other was just a few steps away.

* * *

 **Phew - that was a hard one to write!**

 **Thank you to all of you who are still reading and helping to keep these characters alive. Some days I still really struggle with the cancellation of this epic show, but don't get me started on that!**

 **Comment if you want, I would love to know what you think XXX**


	34. Chapter 34

**Thank you for all the lovely reviews on the previous chapter - you guys are the best! As always, I would recommend re-reading the previous chapter before this one, just to refresh your memories. Hope you enjoy!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of its characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 34**

Dalton woke in the middle of the night, not to a nightmare, but to a sense of loss, like something was missing. He felt it deep down in his gut and the sensation ran right through his body.

Reaching his hand out to the empty space beside him, he remembered where that feeling came from.

Jaz was in her own bed and in her own room, and while it was for the best reasons – he missed her.

He had become so used to her small body curled up beside him. To her head laying on his chest. To her mass of apple scented raven hair that he buried his nose in. To her warmth. To her softness.

To… _Her_.

Putting aside that he hadn't had a nightmare of his own, he couldn't help but wonder about Jaz. He hadn't woken to her calling out, but for his own peace of mind he wanted to check on her.

He threw his covers off and padded quietly to the adjoining door separating their rooms. He didn't go any further into the room because he was met with the sound of Jaz's soft, deep breaths; clearly ensconced in slumber and for that, he couldn't be happier for her.

Not wanting to wake her, he stood at the door for a few moments longer, making out her sleeping figure from the sliver of moonlight peeking through the gap in the heavy curtains.

Relieved that she was asleep and seemingly unaffected by a nightmare, he stood for several seconds longer, just appreciating how seeing Jaz asleep made him feel.

Like it was the most important thing in the world.

* * *

With the first rays of dawn shining through the crack in the curtains, Jaz felt herself rouse from her sleep. Clearing the fuzziness of slumber from her head she reached out for Adam, but when she was met with empty space she remembered that they had spent the night apart.

Although she was feeling a sense of loss at him not lying beside her, she couldn't help but also be overcome with a sense of accomplishment that she had been nightmare free for that evening, and had actually, genuinely slept through the night.

Looking at her phone to check the time, she saw that it was still early and she could lay in bed for another couple of hours.

But she wanted to spend those hours with Adam.

Creeping out of bed and padding quietly through the still open adjoining door and into his room, she stopped momentarily when she heard his long deep breaths of sleep. She was glad he had slept through the night, she hoped it had been nightmare free like her own night.

Walking over to the bed, she lifted the covers and climbed beneath them, her body instantly seeking his warmth.

She couldn't help but smile and couldn't stop her pulse from racing as he turned to her—still seemingly in slumber—and pulled her against his chest, his strong arms holding her in place.

This was the best feeling in the world. It was a feeling she didn't know she had always craved.

Knowing he reached for her in sleep made her feel… _wanted_. A feeling she was mostly unfamiliar with in her lifetime.

The fact that this special operations master next to her would normally wake at the drop of a hat; that someone climbing into bed with him would normally have him in a defensive stance in two seconds flat, did not escape her.

It was as if their bodies knew each other; that their souls knew each other. That they knew the other was not a threat and automatically relaxed in the presence of the other.

With those thoughts in her head, Jaz pressed soft, multiple kisses to Adam's chest, revelling in his masculine scent that never failed to make her feel safe, before laying her head on his chest and letting the sound of his heart beat, lull her back to sleep.

* * *

A couple of hours later Adam woke slowly to find Jaz laying on his chest and his arms wound tightly around her. He had no recollection of her joining him, and hoped it wasn't due to a nightmare.

He marvelled for a moment at how her presence next to him had not woken him.

They were all programmed to wake suddenly, to be wide awake at a moment's notice, ready to engage in whatever the mission required. But while he had clearly sensed her presence—as his arms locked around her attested to—he hadn't woken.

He had reached a level of comfort with her that he had never experienced before, and that flooded him with a sensation he couldn't pinpoint.

Pressing his lips to her hair, breathing in the apple scent that she would forever have ownership over, he felt her start to stir against his chest.

"Morning." He whispered to her as she became more aware of her surroundings.

"Morning." She answered him, her sleep affected voice even raspier than usual.

"How did you sleep?"

"Really well actually. You?"

Adam didn't mention that he awoke during the night and went to check on her. The important thing was that she had slept, right through the night. Other than his concern for her, he had too.

"I still woke up next to you, so I would say really well too." He smiled softly at her, leaning down to press his lips to hers.

"No nightmare?" She wanted to check, trying not to get too distracted by his lips.

"None. You?"

"None."

Smiling at each other, they knew this was a step in the right direction, but realistically they also knew that this wouldn't be the end of their nightmares. It was going to be a long process, and like Xander had said to them both in their individual sessions, nightmares can be a way of healing.

But for now, this was progress for them both, and they knew that speaking to each other the night before about some of their demons had led them to this point right now. There was something to be said for that too.

"I missed you when I woke up though." Jaz continued, seeing his eyes light up in response to her.

"How long have you been here?" He asked.

"A couple of hours. That ok?"

His response was to roll her onto her back and lean over her so his entire body pressed against hers.

Bending his head towards hers and framing her face with his hand, he captured her lips in a long, slow, lingering kiss, which he deepened as soon as he felt her respond.

Pulling away momentarily, his lips dancing just above hers he asked, "That answer your question?"

Her pulse had already quickened with Adam pressed so close, but she pulled him so he was laying completely on top of her and pressed her lips to his ear whispering, "I need more convincing."

Feeling himself already harden against her, he watched her smirk as she cradled him between her legs.

He captured that smirk with his own lips; his tongue sweeping into her mouth, stroking against her own as their lips moved in time with one another, kissing each other over and over until they were both out of breath.

Jaz's entire body hummed feeling Adam pressed so closely to her and when he ground his hips into hers, the hardness beneath his boxer shorts sent a wave of scorching heat, straight to her core.

Her chest heaved and her breasts strained against her top. As if knowing exactly what she needed, Adam tore his lips away from hers and her breath hitched in her throat as he pulled the strap of her tank top down to take her nipple in his mouth.

She couldn't bite back the moan that his lips and teeth enticed from her, his mouth working it's magic so intensely that she was immediately pulling away to remove her tank top completely.

He kissed and revered both her breasts before kissing his way smoothly across her chest and down her stomach.

As always, he kissed as many of her scars as he could along the way. He cherished those scars even more this morning after Jaz confided in him last night about her ordeal. Those scars were a bitter sweet reminder of the torture she endured, but also of the strength and bravery she had shown to survive it. Those scars would be something that Adam will cherish every single time.

When he reached the waistband of her underwear, she lifted her hips as he made short work of removing them.

Leaning down to place a quick kiss to her core, eliciting a gasp from her lips, he quickly came back up to lock his lips on to hers and instead let his fingers explore her.

Feeling how wet she already was, he let his fingers glide between her folds, spreading her wetness up and down her slit before easing his middle finger into her, smiling as she pulled her mouth away from his to let out a low moan.

Moving his lips instead to her neck, paying special attention to the spot just below her ear that he knew drove her crazy, he began to move his finger in and out of her slowly and deliberately, stroking her walls and taking delight in the soft moans she couldn't hide.

Sliding a second finger inside her, and increasing the pace a little, Jaz let out a much louder moan as she felt his fingers stretching her and caressing her inner walls. Moving her hips in time with his fingers, she gasped out loud as his thumb also began to massage her clit, not even bothering to try and censor her pleasure.

After a few more pumps from his extremely capable fingers, she knew she didn't have long to go.

Lifting his head from where it was still buried in the crook of her neck, she placed both hands on either side of his face and whispered to him, "Adam, I want to come with you inside of me."

Needing no further invitation, Adam made short work of removing his boxers and replaced his fingers with his cock, sliding into her in one swift movement.

He left out his own deep groan and instantly began to move, not being able to hold back from the incredible feeling of being buried deep within her.

Revelling in feeling his entire weight on top of her, she began to thrust her hips in time with his, feeling him deep inside of her core, enticing all her nerve endings.

They rocked together with Adam's thrusts becoming deeper and faster, ensuring Jaz came apart in no time at all.

He felt her quivering all over, including her walls clenched around his cock and that, combined with watching her entire body ripple through her own orgasm, had him following her in no time at all.

There was nothing sexier than watching Jaz completely unbridled, letting her body react as it needed to.

It made him do the exact same thing, every single time.

Laying together and still catching their breath, Adam raised his head from where it was resting on the pillow next to hers to look her in the eye. With a question in his eyes, he asked, "Are you convinced now?"

Looking hot, bothered and sexy as hell, Jaz just murmured, "Hell yeah."

* * *

"I've been meaning to ask, how are the nightmares? Have they eased at all?" Xander asked Jaz later that morning in their regular session.

Smirking inwardly to herself and sending a silent thank you to McG for reminding her that this conversation would come up soon enough, she could at least answer honestly and with certainty.

"It seems to be getting better."

Xander knew to expect short answers from Jaz wherever possible by now, so he was surprised when she continued quietly, "I actually talked to someone else about some of this yesterday. And it felt good to share it. I think that's helped too."

"That's good to hear," Xander was genuine in his response, "I know we discussed that the nightmares won't disappear completely. Sometimes they are a way for the mind to heal, by working their way through your subconscious. But the strategies we are putting in place are to help ease them, and hopefully for you to be able to cope with them when they do rear their ugly head. Remember, when they do hit, I want you to either write them down—everything you can remember about them—or if it works better for you, talk to someone. Tell someone. Even if there's no one else, you can always talk to me or ring me."

Nodding her head, Jaz knew he was right and she was fully on board to try and not let these nightmares control her life.

"Yeah, thanks." She responded genuinely.

"So the last session was a heavy one. I know a lot came out of it, and it brought up a few other issues for you. You want to talk about any of them?"

"Actually I do," Jaz admitted.

To look at his face, you wouldn't be able to tell that Jaz's answer had shocked him. He was used to her smart retorts about not _wanting_ to talk about anything and only doing so out of necessity. He didn't draw attention to it though, just took a mental note that this was progress.

Continuing quietly, Jaz stuttered, trying to convey what she needed to, "I umm, I've dreamt – or had nightmares repeatedly about Top being dead, with a gunshot wound to the head."

"Well I guess dreaming about Elijah being dead was self-explanatory, but seeing your CO dead – is there a reason for that?"

While Jaz had talked to Xander in the previous session about the photos that Arthur had produced of her team at the airport in Tehran, she hadn't mentioned the fake photo of Top with a gunshot wound through the head.

The one that had made her break.

She wasn't sure why exactly, maybe it had felt too personal. But now, here in Xander's office she started to explain that picture to him.

"Well that's perfectly understandable as to why you see him dead in your nightmares. I'm guessing the image is still ingrained in your subconscious?" Xander responded when Jaz had finished explaining.

 _And my conscious,_ Jaz thought to herself.

When she nodded, confirming his thought, he continued, "I guess the question is – do you think there's another reason that this keeps playing out in your head?"

"What – what do you mean?" Jaz stammered.

"What I mean is, is there another reason why the thought of seeing your CO dead would play over and over in your mind?"

"Well, he's – he's our leader, our Captain. If he were dead, it would be devastating."

"Agreed. But what I want you to keep asking yourself over the next few days, or for however long it takes is _why_ the image of your CO with a bullet to the head is so devastating. _Why did it make you break?_ Granted, seeing that picture of anyone you are close would be enough to cause pain. But keep asking yourself if there's another reason. If there is, you'll come across it eventually. It might help you to deal with it better."

"And, if I don't come across another reason?" Jaz challenged.

"Then we'll try and figure it out together." Xander assuaged her.

* * *

Xander started his session that afternoon by asking Dalton about his nightmares.

Just like Jaz, Dalton sent out a silent thanks to McG for giving them the heads up on that one, and allowing them to actually see if a difference had been noticeable.

Granted, it had only been one night so far, but he was still happy with the outcome. Not having Jaz beside him in bed hadn't been easy, but he was glad to have made it through the night unscathed.

Xander seemed pleased to hear that, but reiterated what he had told Jaz earlier that day about the nightmares not being gone forever and reminding Dalton of how to deal with them when they did recur.

Dalton nodded his head at Xander, completely on board with doing everything he could to ease what played out in his subconscious, and to get his head around the issues leading to that.

"The last session wasn't easy." Xander noted.

"You're telling me." Dalton replied sardonically.

"Did you need to have a rehash on the topic of Hoffman?"

"Not on him directly at this stage, but I guess what he did to Patricia and Preach isn't easy to forget; especially Preach since his injuries were much worse. It was touch and go there for a while."

"You've known Preach a long time?"

"Yeah, over a decade. He's my right hand man, my sounding board. Seeing him in a coma was hard. But he's on my team, I always want my team safe. I felt the same way when Jaz was captured; when it looked like we wouldn't get her back."

Xander noted the tiny inflection in Dalton's voice when he brought up the topic of Jaz. The untrained eye, or ear, wouldn't have noticed, but it peaked Xander's attention instantly.

"Let's come back to Preach. Tell me about Jaz." Xander led him gently.

"Jaz?"

"Yeah. You said for a while there, it looked like you wouldn't be able to get her back, to rescue her. How did that make you feel?"

"It made me angry. I didn't want to lose another teammate. Losing Elijah had been tough enough for the team, losing Jaz would have been worse." Dalton explained.

"Why would it have been worse?"

"Because we'd already lost Elijah. It would compound that."

"Any other reason?" Xander tried to prompt him.

"Well, we knew what would be happening to her in there. What they could and would do to her."

"And that had you worried?"

"Worried? Of course I was worried, I was beside myself. The thought of losing Jaz…" Dalton trailed off, unsure how to continue that sentence. He cleared his throat before continuing, "Losing Jaz would have been devastating. To all of us." He added quickly.

"Well you'll get no argument here. But I want you to ask yourself – _why_ would losing Jaz be so difficult for you?"

"I've just answered that, we can't lose another teammate." Dalton defended himself.

"You did. But I want you to focus solely on why losing Jaz would be so difficult for _you_. Not the entire team. You."

Dalton stared back at Xander, not quite sure what he was being asked and he definitely didn't have an answer.

He can't pinpoint why losing her would be so difficult for him. She was on his team. But that's not it. Not because she's a woman either. Her gender had never mattered to him or any of the team for that matter.

"Don't answer now, I want you to think about it, give it some thought." Xander said gently, seeing the confusion plainly across Dalton's face.

But Xander knew exactly where he was heading with this. He'd had his suspicions, but today had prompted him to push the issue further. He needed Dalton to come to any conclusions by himself though. It's not an easy conclusion to come to and it may change everything.

But that's how this worked.

They spent the rest of the session talking about Preach. Dalton wasn't nearly as stumped on his reason for being devastated about losing Preach. He was his best friend. They'd worked alongside each other for years, and as much as it made him roll his eyes, the advice that Preach gave Dalton, both professional and personal, had been invaluable.

At the end of the session though, Xander's question was still rolling around in his head.

 _Why would losing Jaz be so difficult for you?_

* * *

That evening all four of them decided to have a movie night in Jaz's room since she had been blessed with the suite. They ordered a ton of room service, had picked up some beer from the corner store and were trying to decide on a movie, which always took forever finding one they would all agree on.

While McG, Jaz and Amir were bickering amongst themselves, Dalton heard the FaceTime chime ringing from his iPad. Dashing into his room to collect it, he was happy to see it was Preach.

"Good timing buddy, just in time to break up the kids fighting." Dalton greeted Preach with a big grin on his face.

"Let me guess, movie night?"

Dalton chuckled, "What else?"

Walking through to the other room, he turned the iPad around for the others to see, while he grabbed a couple of beers out of the fridge.

"Preach, my man!" McG hollered across the room.

"No chick flicks, McG. You know you're the only one who likes them." Preach reasoned with him, "I don't know why you're arguing about it anyway, Jaz will end up picking the movie, she always does."

"See, that's why you're my favourite, Preach." Jaz smiled at the iPad and Preach's big smile looking back at her.

"I got you girl."

"Great, Million Dollar Baby… again!" McG complained.

"Suck it up, princess." Amir managed to get in, standing up to retrieve the iPad from Dalton while he popped the top off the beers.

"How is everyone? I was about to message you all on WhatsApp, but just thought I'd look at your ugly faces instead."

"Hey, who's calling who ugly?" Dalton asked.

"Well no offence Top, but when did you last trim that beard?"

"Touché," Dalton replied, running his hand through his beard and smiling at Jaz when he caught her eye.

Jaz smiled back at him and suddenly flashed back to her appointment with Xander earlier.

 _Is there another reason why the thought of seeing your CO dead would play over and over in your mind?_

Dalton handed her one of the beers.

 _What I want you to keep asking yourself over the next few days, or for however long it takes is why the image of your CO with a bullet to the head is so devastating?_

Their fingers touched as she took the beer from him and Jaz couldn't get it out of her head.

 _Why did it make you break?_

She was jolted out of her thoughts by Preach's big booming laugh, a laugh they were all missing.

Amir and Dalton were laughing along with him, so no doubt it was once again at McG's expense.

Suddenly the screen was flipped and Patton appeared before them, and at that Jaz genuinely melted. She missed that scruffy dog. Adam's dog.

She missed being at the cabin with them both.

As if he knew what she was thinking, Adam looked over at her and smiled. The kind of smile that made the skin near his temples crinkle and the blue of his eyes sparkle. The kind of smile she couldn't help but return.

 _Why did it make you break?_

* * *

It had been great catching up with Preach earlier. They all missed him, but none more than Dalton.

He could do with a bit of Preach's wisdom at the moment, but wasn't quite sure where to start. He couldn't stop thinking about Xander's word's earlier.

 _I want you to focus solely on why losing Jaz would be so difficult for you. Not the entire team. You._

He'd been thinking about it all afternoon, through their movie night and now.

Now they were in their separate beds, adjoining door still open, and it was still all he could think about.

 _Why_ _would losing Jaz be so difficult for you?_

Screw it, he needed to talk to Preach.

Padding softly over to the adjoining door separating their rooms, Dalton was relieved to once again hear the long deep breaths of sleep coming from Jaz's room. He went back into his own room, grabbed his phone and slipped out into the hallway.

Dialling Preach's number, it rang four times before Preach picked up.

"Hey Topshotter, long time no talk," Preach greeted him sarcastically, but jokingly.

"Well I still haven't trimmed my beard since I last spoke to you, so you haven't missed much."

Chuckling to himself, Preach asked him, "What's got you up so late?"

Dalton took a deep breath and started to speak, "Well…"

"Jaz?" Preach jumped in before Dalton could answer.

Not bothering to ask him how he knew, Dalton let out a long sigh before quietly admitting, "Yeah."

Before Preach could ask, Dalton started to relay some of the conversation that he had had with Xander earlier. It took a bit of explaining, but Preach was caught up to speed pretty quickly.

Preach knew that if Dalton was calling him about this, he genuinely needed to talk it out, but just like Xander, he already knew what the answer to those questions were.

He just needed to help Dalton see it.

"You know Adam, you and Jaz have obviously gotten close lately, or closer. It was always there though, the connection between the two of you. Allowing someone close to you is the bravest thing a human can ever do. You've been through a great deal together, both on duty and off."

"I know, but we still have so much to work out… to figure out. There's still plenty to talk to Xander about for both of us. But his questions are weighing on me."

"In my experience, the most intimate thing we can do is to allow the people that we care about the most to see us at our worst, at our lowest, and at our weakest. True intimacy happens when nothing is perfect. I think you would agree that your situation with Jaz has had its challenges; that you've already been through some fairly onerous situations together, seen each other at your lowest points and shared your weak points… but does it change the way you feel about her?" Preach gave him some food for thought.

Dalton was silent for a few moments, not quite sure how to answer. How _does_ he feel about Jaz?

He could add that to the question Xander had asked him earlier.

 _Why_ _would losing Jaz be so difficult for you?_

Preach's voice broke through his thoughts, "You'll figure it out, Adam. I have no doubt. But you should know that when Jaz was taken in Tehran—the whole time we were trying to find her—I have never, _ever_ in my life seen anyone that desperate to save the life of another. And that's saying something considering the life we live."

"Yeah, I hear you." Dalton whispered.

"Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us."

Preach left Dalton with some food for thought and Dalton thanked him for the advice, but when he hung up, he was still confused.

Preach's words kept flashing through his mind. As did Xander's.

 _I want you to focus solely on why losing Jaz would be so difficult for you. Not the entire team. You._

* * *

Hours later Dalton lay in bed, just staring at the ceiling. He hadn't slept a wink. Not because he had a nightmare, but because he was just trying to straighten everything out in his mind, and he was struggling with it.

He knew that what had recently developed between himself and Jaz had surprised him and caught him off guard, but it had become incredibly important to him.

He knew that he enjoyed every single moment with Jaz and she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

He knew that he would do anything to protect her and the thought of being without her was something he didn't want to even contemplate.

At that thought, Preach's words once again ran through his mind.

 _Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us._

Speaking of being without her, he noticed through the curtains that dawn was breaking and he had missed her while he laid awake all night.

Getting off the bed and walking through their adjoining door, he was once again happy to see that she was still asleep. He stopped momentarily to just look at her, with the early morning rays illuminating her beautiful features and making his heart thud in his chest.

Lifting the covers up from her bed, he slid in behind her where she was facing the opposite direction.

It was as if her body just sensed him; just needed him.

Without waking she instinctively rolled over and wrapped herself around him, burying herself against his side. He immediately pulled her closer because being without her for the last few hours was something he hadn't enjoyed.

He pressed his face into the top of her head, as he loved to do so much, inhaling her scent and tenderly kissing her forehead.

He was momentarily mesmerised as a flutter of a smile crossed her face, as if she sensed it was him and she snuggled even closer to him.

And it was at that very moment that his heart nearly jumped out of his chest and – he knew.

 _He knew._

Watching her beautiful, soft face; her chest rising and falling in slumber; her head snuggled into his shoulder and her arm resting on his chest – he knew.

At that very juncture in time, he had a moment of clarity.

At that exact point, he knew why even though this is risking both of their careers, even though they had to hide it away, even though they had many obstacles still to hurdle – it was worth it.

He finally knew why. And he couldn't believe he didn't realise it sooner.

He loved her.

He was _in love_ with her.

Completely. Deeply. Irrevocably.

In love with her.

* * *

 **Finally! Phew - that was another hard one to write. And I know - It's about fricken time he realised right?! Although I have warned you this is a slow burn...**

 **I would love to know what you all thought, your comments are always so appreciated, and thank you as always for continuing to read this story. Much love to you all XXX**


	35. Chapter 35

**Thank you as always for continuing to read this story. This is the first half of a very long chapter. I just couldn't stop writing and it turned out to be mammoth, so I split it. Hope you enjoy :)**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of its characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 35**

He was in love with her. He was _in love_ with Jaz.

Dalton lay staring up at the ceiling. He was in Jaz's hotel room, with her snuggled up to his chest, his arms wrapped around her and comfortable as ever, but he still hadn't had a wink of sleep.

He knew by now that she would start to stir soon, he had lived with her enough over the last three years to know when she usually woke up, disregarding when the Toughbook cam rings. For now though he was happy that she was still asleep because he was still trying to wrap his head around his realisation.

His epiphany.

 _He was in love with her. He was in love with Jaz._

He'd never felt this way before; he knew that for sure now, which was probably why it had taken so long to register. He already knew he liked her—a lot. He already knew he cared for her—a lot. But this was… everything.

This was being unable to imagine his life without her. Not just the teammate. Not just the best sniper he'd ever met. Not just the sarcastic, blunt and quick-witted friend. Just Jaz.

Even thinking _just Jaz,_ felt wrong. She was everything.

And sure he couldn't imagine life without all aspects of her either, but this was just… a mind fuck.

An absolute mind fuck.

How the fuck had this happened? _When_ did this happen? Did she know? Did she feel the same? Does anyone else know? Does Preach know? Probably.

That was the only question he knew the answer to. _Of course_ Preach knew.

Dalton had never felt so unhinged, and yet so content at the same time. He finally knew why so many little things had been eating away at him for the last three years. He finally knew why he always paired himself with her on mission or why she was the first one he turned to. He finally knew why when a mission directly involved her, it always felt worse. He finally knew why Tehran had shaken him to the core.

And he finally knew the answer to Xander's question.

 _Why_ _would losing Jaz be so difficult for you?_

Because he was in love with her.

He looked across at this beautiful woman in his arms, still in awe at his realisation, and wondered when it was exactly that she had slipped through his defences? When it was that she dug her way through his walls? And when it was that she had become the most important person in his life?

Nuzzling her hair, as he couldn't resist doing, he just held her close, still gobsmacked, but also relieved that he'd _finally_ figured it out.

* * *

Jaz blinked her eyes open and awake about an hour later. She smiled contentedly when she found herself curled up to Adam's chest.

One of his arms was wrapped around her, holding her firmly to his side, the other bent up under his head and he was wide awake, staring up at the ceiling.

"Hey," She greeted him sleepily, her arm on his chest wrapping around him tighter.

"Hey." He answered softly, turning his head to smile gently at her.

Although his eyes twinkled as he looked at her, when they met her own, she noticed instantly how tired he looked and knew he hadn't slept well.

"You ok? Did you have a nightmare?" Jaz lifted her head from his chest to study his face.

Dalton felt his heart beat a little faster that she was so in tune with him, that she could read him so well. He instinctively pulled her even closer to him.

"No, I'm fine, just didn't sleep well."

He was lying. He was far from fine. He was feeling things that he had never felt before. He didn't know how to articulate them and definitely didn't know what to do with them. And he sure as hell didn't know what to tell Jaz.

"You sure?" She asked him, placing her hand on his cheek and rubbing her thumb across his cheek bone, "Anything you want to talk about?"

He paused before answering, momentarily wondering if he should tell her; wondering how she would react. But wanting to think it over some more and get a better grasp on it himself, he just smiled gently at her.

"I'm good. But I might hit the gym early before breakfast since I have that meeting with Patricia later."

Patricia had teed up a meeting with Dalton in the early afternoon, mostly to discuss their next deployment, even though that was still some time off.

Jaz wanted to suggest that he stay with her and get his workout in bed, but she could see that he had something on his mind, and was pretending like he _didn't_ have something on his mind. She hoped that whatever had kept him up all night was easily assuaged with exercise – but she knew better. For now though, she didn't press the matter.

When she leaned over to press her lips quickly to his, he returned the kiss, pulled back to look into her eyes deeply, with an expression on his face that she couldn't place, and then got out of her bed to walk back into his own room.

Watching him walk away, Xander's words once again played in her mind:

 _What I want you to keep asking yourself over the next few days, or for however long it takes is why the image of your CO with a bullet to the head is so devastating?_

 _Why did it make you break?_

She still didn't have the answer, but waking up next to him was still her favourite thing in the world.

Rolling over she tried to go back to sleep for another hour or so before breakfast. She was unsuccessful. The words just kept flashing through her mind.

 _Why did it make you break?_

* * *

After breakfast, the team agreed that they wanted to stay close to the hotel that day. Dalton had his meeting with the Deputy Director that afternoon but the rest of them wanted to hit the gym, have a swim and just generally take it easy.

They were all going to have dinner together, with Hannah as well, later that evening so after breakfast they went their separate ways.

Dalton's meeting with Patricia that afternoon was as he expected.

They discussed options for their next deployment and whether or not to continue to use Incirlik as their base.

They discussed Preach's progress and what plans to put in place if he wasn't ready to deploy at the same time as the others.

Patricia needed to know, that despite being on leave, the team were keeping up with their fitness and skills regime, which Dalton could categorically vouch for. One of the many great things about his team, was that they took care of their fitness and were constantly honing their skills. They needed to _always_ be ready, who knew what the world could throw at them at a moment's notice.

And finally Patricia needed to know that Dalton and Jaz were both continuing to cope with their therapy sessions with Captain Martin.

Putting all his training into practice, Dalton looked Patricia square in the eye and without a flicker on his face, assured her that he was doing just fine and to his knowledge, Jaz was too.

"Good." Patricia responded quietly after studying his face for a moment. Despite the complexity of their jobs, she cared a great deal for this team, especially in light of what had went down with Hoffman. Making sure they were ok and that they would be ready for duty wasn't just her exacting her authority; it came from a deep level of care too.

Moving on to a lighter topic, she asked Dalton what his plans were for the rest of the day.

"Going to hit the pool when I get back to the hotel and then we're all having dinner tonight, with Hannah also."

"Ah, Hannah does seem to be quite taken with Amir. I assume he feels the same way?"

"Your assumption would be correct." Dalton answered with a grin on his face.

"Good. I think they're good for each other." Patricia stated matter of factly.

Just nodding his head, Dalton couldn't wait to get out of that room. As much respect and admiration as he had for Patricia, he was still struggling with his own revelation about his feelings for Jaz. He didn't need Patricia picking up on that as well.

Leaving her office with the promise of checking back in soon, he took a big deep breath and exhaled a sigh of relief as he exited the building. He hadn't out right lied to his Deputy Director about anything, but lying by omission could be just as bad. And when it was to someone as sharp as Patricia—well he hated to think about what the consequences could be.

He needed that swim desperately. He needed to lose himself in some sort of physical activity.

What he wouldn't give to be back at his cabin right now to set off on a hike with Patton. To breath in the crisp mountain air and to clear his head.

Having said that, he didn't want to be there without Jaz. Having her stay at the cabin with him for those few weeks meant he couldn't think of the place without tying it to her also. He was desperate to get back there with her, but first he needed to sort out these feelings in his head.

And his heart.

* * *

Jaz spent the early part of the afternoon churning up and down the swimming pool. She'd spent the best part of an hour swimming lap after lap after lap, all the while Xander's words flashing through her mind.

 _Why did it make you break?_

She wished she had an answer. She knew that she cared about Dalton. She cared about her whole team, which was why seeing the pictures that Arthur had thrown in her face, upset her so much.

But it was Adam that she had nightmares about. It was his death that played out in her nightmares, intertwined between those of Elijah and her father.

It was also Adam that she dreamt about; the good sort of dreams. She had been lucky to wake up to him right beside her for the last few weeks, making this time seem like a dream in itself.

She was struggling to find an answer to Xander's question, so deciding to just let it sit for a while, she dried herself off and then lay down on one of the loungers by the pool, soaking up some sun.

If the answers weren't going to come to her, maybe a nap would help clear her mind.

Right there on the lounger she fell asleep, tired after her long swim and exhausted from her mind working overtime.

* * *

Taking the elevator to the rooftop pool, Dalton couldn't wait to hit the water, knowing it would be cathartic and soothing to his wired up emotions.

Walking towards the pool and the loungers surrounding it, he stopped in his tracks as a huge rush of warmth washed over him.

There on a lounger, fast asleep, was Jaz.

Dalton felt his breath catch and his pulse race as a surge of emotion rippled through him. There it was again, that feeling that he had been unable to pinpoint until the night before. That feeling, while unfamiliar, felt like coming home.

There was no doubt in his mind that he was in love with Jaz.

He was amazed at this feeling. Like she was the most precious thing in the world and all he wanted to do was protect her and shelter her from… everything. Which almost made him laugh because Jaz certainly didn't need protecting or sheltering.

Shaking his head wryly to himself, he put his towel down on the lounger next to hers, moved a sun umbrella over her so that she didn't burn and then dove into the pool with the grace of a seasoned veteran.

The gradual churning of the laps helped him to clear his mind, although never quite taking his mind off the beauty resting poolside.

After about half an hour, he surfaced at one end to find Jaz sitting on the side of the pool with her legs dangling in the water. The sheer sight of her in her swimsuit, hair pulled into a messy bun on top of her head and her eyes squinting into the sun was enough to make his heart thud in his chest.

There it was again. It was as if the last 12 hours had changed his entire life; had changed the effect Jaz had on him. He had already known that after the last few weeks she was special to him, but this was next level.

He was _in love_ with her.

"I'm assuming I have you to thank for the umbrella." Jaz smiled at him.

Dalton cleared his throat and shook himself from his thoughts, "Well no one else would have come near you with that snoring…"

He chuckled as he was hit square in the face with a splash of water. Looking at Jaz, he would love nothing more than to grab her around the waist and pull her into the water, flush against him.

He would love nothing more than to make love to her right there in the pool.

All of a sudden the term _making love_ took on a whole new meaning, and Dalton needed to keep moving before he did something he would regret.

He gestured towards the empty pool, "I mean, I'd challenge you to race but I know you must be worn out from your swim earlier so…"

With that he heard Jaz slide herself into the pool and she sidled up next to him. Never one to back down from a challenge, Jaz got herself ready.

"Ok, ready, set…."

Before he even finished he took a breath and pushed off from the wall.

"Cheater." She called out to him and for the split second that he was in front of her, she still couldn't fight Xander's words from her mind.

 _Why did it make you break?_

More than willing to lose herself in exercise again, she pushed off from the wall herself and concentrated on catching up to him and drawing level with him.

Their shared shower afterwards had them washing the chlorine from each other's bodies and as their showers so often did, ended with them exploring each other, touching and caressing each other, pushing their bodies to the pinnacle together and finally coming together.

But this time, Adam held her even closer than usual, stared into her eyes even more intensely, kissed her even more deeply and cherished her even longer than he usually does.

All those acts weren't lost on Jaz. She too got caught up in his gaze and couldn't help but notice something different shining in his eyes.

It didn't make her feel uncomfortable, but it made her feel vulnerable and she wasn't quite sure why or how.

All she knew was that being with Adam was the best thing that had ever happened to her and the thought of being without him was unbearable.

* * *

Hannah had made a reservation at a Thai restaurant for that evening.

She went straight from work and the others met her there.

McG couldn't help but blurt out his usual, "Gross," as he watched Amir kiss her hello, and in return copped a wry look from Jaz and Dalton.

They enjoyed catching up with Hannah again and of course they did their best to tell her as many funny stories about Amir as possible.

"I thought that what happened on deployment, stayed on deployment?" Amir pleaded.

"Nope, sorry my friend. Not unless it's classified." Dalton smiled.

"Geez if we could spill the classified stuff, we'd be here all night." McG teased.

Amir scoffed, "Oh please, don't even get me started on your antics."

"We're talking about you here buddy, I don't need to impress anyone here tonight."

"No, but it would be nice if you did for a change." Jaz threw at McG.

"Ha ha, Jazzy."

After dinner and a few drinks, Amir went home with Hannah while the other three made their way back to the hotel.

Dalton and McG decided to have a drink in the hotel bar, but Jaz said she was tired and was heading straight to her room.

"You ok?" Dalton asked her quietly, while McG went to the bar.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Think it was all that swimming that's got me tired."

Knowing full well that Jaz's physical threshold was a lot higher than a couple of afternoon swims, Dalton just tilted his head questioningly at her.

"I promise I'm fine. I just need some sleep." She told him, knowing her reason had fallen flat on him.

"Ok, I'll check on you when I come up." He relented and once again, he wished like hell he could give her a kiss goodbye right there and then.

Once Jaz was up in her room, she sat on the couch and stared into space. She had come no closer to being able to answer the questions that Xander had posed to her the day before and she wasn't quite sure what to tell him the next morning.

Laying down on the couch, making herself comfortable, she asked the same question over and over till she wanted to scream.

 _Why did it make you break?_

That's exactly where Dalton found her asleep nearly an hour later, her mental exhaustion allowing her some rest.

He picked her up and carried her over to the bed, tucked her in and ran his hand tenderly across her cheek, as always marvelling at her softness. She was so beautiful when she was asleep. She was always beautiful.

If only she knew how he felt about her.

If only he knew more about it himself

* * *

Dalton roused from his sleep in the early hours of the morning to hear murmurings. When he focused, he realised it was coming from Jaz's room through the open adjoining room.

On his feet quickly, he strode through the door and to her bedside, placing a hand on her shoulder and gently shaking her to wake her up.

"No, no, no…." Jaz was mumbling, and as he switched on the lamp at her bedside, Dalton could see tracks of tears down her cheeks.

A slightly sturdier shake on her shoulder managed to do the trick and all of a sudden Jaz opened her eyes with a gasp, before sitting bolt upright desperately trying to get a handle on her surroundings.

Seeing Adam sitting on the bed next to her, she reached her hand out to lay on his face, needing to make sure it was real; needing to make sure _he_ was real. She hadn't had a nightmare for a couple of weeks now, but this one fit with where her mind had been the last day or so.

"Talk to me, tell me what you saw." She heard Adam say softly to her as he placed his own hand over hers, still resting on his cheek.

"It was – it was the picture of you with the gun shot would to the head. You were dead. You were dead." She whispered.

The tug at his heart, knowing that Jaz was still seeing that image in her head had him leaning forward and placing both his hands on her face. Looking into her eyes he spoke in a low voice to her, "I'm right here, Jaz. It wasn't real. It wasn't real."

Looking deep into his eyes, she couldn't help but be soothed by his words and his actions. He pulled her against his chest and held her close, tenderly kissing the top of her head, wishing he could take all of this away from her; wishing he could take all her pain away from her.

After a few minutes, he got into bed with her and held her close, her head on his chest and his arms wrapped around her. This was the way they slept best, and even though they had been trying to sleep apart for the last couple of nights, for the rest of this evening they both needed some rest.

Jaz needed to banish the picture of him dead from her mind.

Dalton needed to be assured that she would get some sleep.

They eventually both fell asleep, comforted in the only way that worked for them both; by being together.

* * *

Waking the next morning Jaz felt warm, rested and safe. It was the way she always felt when she woke next to Adam. She had missed sharing her bed all through the night with him the last couple of nights, but knew that it was for the greater good.

Still, seeing that Adam was still asleep, she propped her chin up on his chest and just watched him sleep. It gave her peace watching him sleep and the feeling of contentment that washed over her was something that she couldn't place. Regardless of her nightmare last night, she was also the happiest she had ever been.

It didn't make sense. And it was unfamiliar.

That picture of him in Tehran is something she would never forget, even if she eventually got past the nightmares. That picture was ingrained somewhere deep inside of her and she would never be able to discount the feelings she had felt when she first saw the photo.

Looking at him now, his face soft in sleep and clearly very alive, she kissed his chest softly and ran her hand over his smooth, but hard chest. The need to touch him was always at its greatest when she was reminded of that photo.

 _Why did it make you break?_

Frowning at that damn question again, she lay her head back down on his chest. She lay her hand over his heart and listened to its strong and steady heartbeat, letting the soothing sound alleviate the questions in her mind.

For now.

* * *

 **Like I said earlier, I split a very long chapter and I'm hoping to have the second half of it posted before next weekend. There's just one part of it I can't get quite right. I'm finding it more difficult with some of these emotional chapters.**

 **I'd like to get back to posting weekly instead of fortnightly, and I'll work hard to try and do that, but you know, that thing called life and adulting keeps interfering with the fun times - so annoying ;)**

 **Thank you for reading and as always, a special mention to those who comment. You all make my day! Much love XXX**


	36. Chapter 36

**Ok, here's the second half of the last chapter. You might want to re-read the previous update to refresh yourselves on the story. Hope you enjoy!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 36**

"So you've come no closer to being able to answer that question?" Xander asked Jaz later that morning.

 _Why did it make you break?_

Jaz just shrugged, not really knowing what to say. After a few moments she admitted to Xander that the question confused her. It had played over and over in her mind for the last couple of days; for longer than that if she was being completely honest, and now it was just starting to piss her off. She didn't like not being able to answer it. It made her feel… lost.

Seeing how much this was getting to her, Xander suggested a different approach.

"When you saw those pictures of your team, especially of your CO, what else did you feel?"

Jaz looked at him questioningly.

Clarifying what he meant, he continued, "We've already established that it was momentarily devastating, seeing your teammate made to look like he was dead. Was there any other feelings that came up, even fleetingly?" He prompted gently.

Looking down at her hands, Jaz searched her memories, recalling that time in Tehran, remembering how she felt. All of a sudden she raised her eyes to meet Xander's.

"I was angry."

"Why?"

"I was angry that it appeared like they had broken protocol to try and save me, and that it had gotten Ad – Top, killed."

The slip wasn't lost on Xander, but he didn't address it.

"So even though the photo was fake, in reality they really _had_ broken protocol to save you. That upset you?"

"I would rather they had gotten themselves all out safe than have risked it and potentially lost their lives as a result."

"But – they got you out safely and no one died. _No one_ died Jaz." Xander tried to rationalise with her.

She just remained quiet, still looking down at her hands. She knew they were all safe. She knew no one had died. But the 'what ifs' were playing on her mind. And still that same question nagged on her.

 _Why did it make you break?_

"Have you ever asked any of your team _why_ they broke protocol?" Xander asked quietly but pointedly.

"No," Jaz answered faintly. She had barely spoken at all about the whole ordeal, let alone ask her team why they had broken protocol and come for her. It was only really Adam that she had recently started talking to about Tehran and it had definitely helped her somewhat.

"Maybe you should."

In his very quiet but matter of fact way, Xander pinpointed exactly what she needed to do. In closing herself off and the subject of her capture to the rest of them, she had probably been denying herself the closure that she may need in order to be able to move on.

She would never forget what had happened, but she desperately needed to make headway. She needed to stop it from defining her, and she needed some answers.

Looking up at Xander slowly and seeing the earnest look on his face, seeing that he was genuinely trying to help her, she nodded. He was right, that was exactly what she needed to do. She knew it wouldn't be easy to ask them. But they were her team. They were her best friends. They won't and wouldn't lie to her, not after everything they had been through together.

* * *

Dalton sat down in the chair in Xander's office and when he raised his head to look at Xander, it was with a neutral, but relaxed face and demeanour.

Xander nodded slowly in understanding, "I see you found your answer."

Without taking his eyes from Xander's or moving at all, Dalton very perceptively stated evenly, "You knew."

"I suspected." Xander clarified.

After a few moments Dalton started, "Look Xander…"

Putting up his hand, Xander interrupted him, "In our first session together I told you that these sessions are confidential, unless I deem that you are in any danger to yourself or others, or if I have any major concerns about your welfare."

Dalton nodded along with him, remembering Xander telling him so. He couldn't help but feel apprehensive though, this was a tricky situation; far from ideal. The risks are enormous, but he couldn't help but think that Xander wouldn't have pushed him to seek this answer if he was going to throw him under the bus.

Sure enough, Xander's next words cleared that up.

"In my professional opinion, you don't pose a threat to yourself or anyone else, nor do I have concerns about your welfare." Xander looked at him pointedly but with a small smirk on his face.

Dalton let out a long breath he hadn't known he was holding. Granted, Xander didn't know the extent to which his relationship with Jaz had changed over the last month or so. Even so, Xander had the power to blow the whistle on himself and Jaz, but Dalton knew he wasn't that guy. That was exactly why he had felt so comfortable over the years talking to him and why he hadn't hesitated to point Xander in Jaz's direction in Incirlik.

Still though, he had some remorse that Xander was now in this position.

In a daze he noticed that Xander was still speaking, but he had missed it all.

"Sorry, what was that?"

Grinning Xander repeated himself, "I asked if you know what you are going to do with this new revelation?"

"No idea." Dalton admitted bluntly. And that was the god's honest truth. He had no idea.

* * *

Back at the hotel, Jaz found McG and Amir in the café sitting down to have coffee so she joined them and ordered her own.

Amir caught the look on her face, "Everything ok?"

Jaz didn't know whether to scowl or smile, of course Amir would be able to tell that something was off.

"Actually, I need to ask you guys something."

Noting the hesitation in her voice, McG bit back the smart ass remark he was about to blurt out. He knew that she had a session this morning with Xander, and he wondered if whatever she was about to ask had stemmed from that. Highly likely.

"In Tehran…" Jaz started hesitantly, "In Tehran, you guys broke protocol. You were supposed to leave, but instead you got me out."

Hearing Jaz talk about Tehran sobered them both very quickly. This wasn't something that Jaz ever spoke about, so they knew that this was hard for her.

"Why didn't you leave?"

McG and Amir exchanged glances quickly, wondering if Jaz had brought this up with Top or Preach yet. Regardless, the truth was the only way to go.

"In all honestly, after our initial efforts lead us to a dead end, we very nearly did leave," McG explained, "Top was getting ready to hear about exfil plans from the Deputy Director, when he came up with the idea to expose you."

Picking up the story from McG, Amir continued, "We thought his plan was crazy at first, it seemed fraught with danger and I'm ashamed to admit that we questioned him on it, repeatedly. But there was no talking Top out with it. He was determined, he had Patricia on board and that spread to the rest of us. He wasn't going home without you, so neither were we."

Jaz sat in silence for a few moments, letting their explanation sink in.

"But you could have all been killed." She reasoned with them.

McG shrugged, "But we weren't. And you're here with us."

Jaz let a smile wash over her face at the simpleness of McG's answer. He was right.

"Thanks guys." She just said simply, and they knew that that particular conversation was done for now.

Later that afternoon, when she was back in her bedroom, Jaz called Preach. She could have just text him, but she thought talking to him would be easier.

"Hey Jaz." Preach greeted her and she could tell by his tone of voice that he was smiling. That was Preach, always able to make someone feel like family, just with a simple greeting.

"Hey Preach, how are you?"

"All good here, sticking to my rehab, being bossed around by my wife and daughters and now you can add Patton to that list too."

"You're loving every minute it." Jaz replied, smiling at the thought.

"You know it. So what can I do for you, Jaz?"

"I actually want to ask you something that has come up in my therapy sessions."

"Ok, shoot." Preach replied without hesitation, hearing the serious tone settle into her voice.

Jaz took a deep breath before explaining, "In Tehran, you all broke protocol by staying and getting me out. Why?"

Preach hadn't been expecting this when he answered the phone, but he knew it must be something important for her to call. Normally they would text or WhatsApp. Wanting to give her the answer she deserved he started to answer her slowly and purposely.

"Truthfully, we thought we had explored all our opportunities. Top heard the sheep on your recording and led us to the slaughterhouse, but that was a fortress. We thought that was it. We were devastated thinking we would have to leave, but it was Top who found a way. It was Top who managed to convince us all that we had this one and only opportunity to grab you. I'm regretful to say that we all thought he was crazy at first, but we could see his determination and desperation to get you. His desperation convinced us, and he was right."

Jaz let that sit for a moment. It was pretty much what McG and Amir had told her too.

Sensing that she was struggling with what to say, he reached out, "Jaz, the hardest times in our lives often lead to the greatest moments. What you went through and what you continue to go through is a challenge, but keep the faith. It will all be worthwhile in the end. These moments can only make you stronger, and you're easily one of the strongest people I know."

"Thanks Preach," Jaz whispered, not knowing what else to say.

"Anytime girl. You know you can hit me up anytime you need to. I'm no therapist, but I promise you this, I will always listen and I will always care."

"I miss you. Hurry up and get better so that you can help me keep McG in line." Jaz said affectionately.

"I know without a shadow of a doubt that you do not need me for that." Preach chuckled and Jaz chuckled right along with him.

There was one more member of her team to question, and she had been saving the hardest for last.

Asking Adam these same questions wasn't going to be easy, especially given what the other three had told her. She didn't know how to approach this and needed some time to think.

All of a sudden her mind wandered back to when Adam told her all about Hossein that day they were fishing by the lake. Some of Adam's words flashed back to her and she decided it was all the more reason to give this a bit more thought.

 _Hossein knew I was not going to leave without getting you out. I was not leaving, it was never an option._

She'd never questioned him about that at the time. It didn't feel right back then. But why was leaving never an option for him? Maybe now was the right time to find out.

She threw on some active wear and decided to go for a run. She did her best thinking when she was exercising.

* * *

Walking back to the hotel after his session with Xander, Dalton was still trying to process this whole situation and his emotions towards it.

It was new. Like, brand fucking shiny new. And he was still struggling with the whole concept of it.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and sent a quick text.

 _ **You could have just told me**_ – Top

 _ **About damn time you figured it out**_ – Preach

Dalton smiled wryly at his phone.

 _ **Would have been a whole lot easier if you had just told me**_ – Top

 _ **It's something you needed to figure out for yourself**_ – Preach

 _ **I was so confused**_ – Top

 _ **I've heard that confusion is the first step towards clarity –**_ Preach

 _ **English please**_ \- Top

 _ **Don't try to figure it all out at once, take it one day at a time and just enjoy the journey. You've figured out the hard part, the rest should be easy**_ – Preach

' _ **Should' being the operative word**_ – Top

 _ **Enjoy it, Top. Love is a beautiful thing**_ – Preach

Once again Dalton smiled wryly at his phone. Of course Preach had all the answers, now if only he could figure them all out.

* * *

That evening, Amir and McG went to see a movie and thought they would give Jaz and Dalton a night to themselves. Neither of them felt like going far so instead they went and got some take out from a restaurant down the street and decided to just watch some Netflix in Jaz's room.

They were both preoccupied with their own thoughts, caught up in their own subconscious, processing the questions and revelations they had both been faced with the last few days.

Jaz was still trying to answer all the queries running through her head and Dalton was still trying to process his epiphany.

Neither were really paying attention to what was on the TV and Dalton noticed Jaz just picking at her dinner.

Sensing that she needed to talk about something, he reached out his hand to touch her arm and he prodded gently, "Jaz, talk to me."

Those words of his were hard to ignore. They held a special place in her heart, knowing he was always available to talk to when she needed him.

Looking up at him, Jaz knew that this conversation needed to be had; there was no point dragging this out. If she wanted answers of her own, she needed some of his.

Turning around to face Adam on the couch she mentally braced herself, exhaled the breath she didn't know she was holding and blurted out before she could change her mind, "I need to ask you a question."

Adam moved positions so he was also facing her and looking her in the eye, "You can ask me anything, you know that."

Jaz took a big breath feeling slightly calmer listening to his easy tone. She asked quietly, "Why did you break protocol in Tehran?"

Dalton was surprised by the question and frowned slightly, "What do you mean?"

Jaz paused and looked down at her hands, "After I was captured, protocol dictates that you return without me. We're black ops. Our government doesn't recognise us, and no help is to be sent in. You ignored that. Why?"

"We saw a way to get you out. We found the slaughterhouse." Dalton explained.

"But it was a fortress. You would have been killed."

"We found a way – by exposing you, and Patricia agreed with me."

"But it was a massive risk, you could have all been killed."

"But we weren't. We're all here, _alive_." His voice emphasising that fact, his calm and even tone starting to disintegrate in exasperation.

Jaz stood up off the couch, starting to feel a little frustrated. Pacing in front of Adam, she turned to him with a look of desperation in her eye.

"I just – I just need to know, _why_ you broke protocol?"

"We weren't leaving you behind, Jaz. _I_ wasn't leaving you behind."

That's what she needed to know more about. Why _he_ couldn't leave her behind.

"Why?" She almost pleaded.

"Because you're part of my team, I couldn't leave anyone behind." Dalton justified, starting to get agitated.

"But you know the rules. I knew the rules. It was risky."

"It all worked out, Jaz, and it was _my_ call." He stood up to face her with that statement, starting to wonder where she was going with all of this, and why she was pushing the subject so hard.

"But what if it hadn't? What if you had all been killed?"

"We don't need to think about that, we're all ok."

Jaz was feeling more incensed as this conversation went on. She needed something from him, she just wasn't sure what. But without it, she needed to keep pushing, for her own sanity.

Taking a big deep breath, trying to calm herself down, she clenched and unclenched her fists before looked him right in the eye.

"I can't stop thinking about it. I need to know why _you_ didn't leave. You told me that Hossein knew you weren't going to leave without getting me out. You said that you weren't leaving, that it was never an option."

"Correct. I wasn't leaving without you." Dalton confirmed irritably, running his hand through his beard, concerned with the direction this conversation was going and the way they were both acting.

"Why?" Jaz asked, her voiced getting louder and firmer.

"I wouldn't have forgiven myself."

"Why?" Her voice stronger and more insistent.

"Because, I—I…"

"WHY?" She almost yelled, the desperation clearly evident in her voice.

"BECAUSE I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU." He yelled back at her.

The seconds following were palpable.

They both froze.

They were both silent.

Their eyes were locked together.

Dalton's nostrils flared, and he instantly wished he could take it back. Not the sentiment behind it, but the means in which he had said it. Jaz just had a way of getting under his skin, in more ways than one. They had butted heads before, and neither of them were great at backing down. It had never been like this though, with so many other feelings flying between them.

Or maybe it had always been like this. Their awareness was now just heightened.

Jaz was just in shock. Her mouth agape.

"Wha – What?"

Dalton took a long shaky breath, his chest heaving with emotion. There was no going back now, but he needed to fix this.

"I'm in love with you, Jaz" he said a lot more quietly and gently than the first time, his eyes shining with desperation and sincerity.

Jaz was still frozen, not sure what to say or do.

"I, I – uh, I need to go."

"No, wait – Jaz…" Adam calls after her, but she was already out the door and he knew better than to follow her at the moment.

Instead he sat back down heavily on the couch and put his head in his hands.

What the _fuck_ had just happened?

* * *

 **Well? Do you hate me? Hope not. It took a while to edit this last part, and as always, I'm not sure if I'm entirely happy with it, but I hope it reads ok.**

 **The next chapter picks up straight after this.** **They have a LOT of processing to do.**

 **Thank you to you beautiful people who continue to read this, and as always a special mention to those who comment. I'm not just saying it when I tell you the comments seriously keep me motivated and keep me honest. Much love XXX**


	37. Chapter 37

**Thank you all so much for your kudos and feedback on the last chapter. This chapter picks up right where the last chapter left off, but as always you might need to re-read the last chapter to refresh yourselves. Hope you enjoy :)**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 37**

Jaz pushed the button for the elevator, willing it to come quickly.

Glancing back down the corridor to her room, and Adam's room, she wasn't sure whether to expect him to come after her or not. At this stage she was willing him not to. She needed to be alone; she needed some space to process… everything.

Growing impatient waiting for the elevator, she strode towards the stair well instead and took the stairs two at a time until her thighs began to burn. She was fit, extremely fit, but the speed she was taking this staircase upwards would have given the Flash a run for his money.

She didn't stop until she reached the very top floor and almost fell through the doorway opening up to the roof top pool.

To the stars.

With her chest heaving, trying to catch her breath she put her hands on her hips and raised her chin skyward. The twinkling of the stars helped to soothe her unease and slow her heart rate. Concentrating on taking big deep breaths, just like Xander had coached her, she brought her breathing back down to a normal rate, but she wished she could say the same about her heart.

 _I'm in love with you, Jaz._

Not only had his words thrown her, but also the look in his eyes as he said them.

She had never seen Adam look so earnest, so nervous and so scared at the same time. In fact, she had never seen him look scared—ever. Certainly not as her Captain, and not as her friend either.

She wandered over to a lounge chair and sat down.

Looking down at her hands, she could see them shaking and she formed them into fists to try and get them back under control. Her role as a sniper meant she was normally as steady as a rock, so she knew that she was completely disconcerted at the moment.

Laying back on the lounge chair, her big brown eyes wide open, fixated on the stars, she went over the whole conversation with Adam in her head. She lay there for a long time playing it over and over again.

Knowing that she needed to talk to someone, she got her phone and dialled a number.

"Hi, it's Jaz. Can we – uh, can we talk? Now?"

Hanging up her phone a few moments later she went back to laying down and taking big deep breaths.

What was wrong with her? Adam Dalton, the only guy she had ever felt this strongly about, had just told her that he was in love with her and her first instinct had been disbelief and then to run. What the fuck?

* * *

Dalton heard the door close behind Jaz and he had to fight every instinct to run after her.

He was scared. Scared of what he had just told her and scared of her reaction. But knowing Jaz the way he did, even when she had been no more than his teammate and friend, he knew to let her go for now. He knew that she needed to process this herself.

But he hoped like hell that he hadn't just fucked everything up.

He walked back into his own bedroom and just stood in the middle of the room. With his hands on his hips he replayed the conversation between them that had occurred only minutes before.

He hadn't meant to blurt it out like he had. He had never wanted to say it in anger or as a defence.

But it was the truth. And he knew it to be true now more than ever because all he wanted to do was go and find Jaz and wrap her up in his arms.

All he could see was the look on her face when he had blurted out those words.

Shock. Disbelief. Uncertainty.

He wasn't surprised at the shock. But it was seeing the disbelief and uncertainty written across her face and reflected in her eyes that he was worried about.

He hadn't meant to tell her like that. He hadn't wanted to shout it like that. But in true Jaz style, she was the only one who ever really got under his skin; the only one who ever really challenged him. And while it sometimes drove him crazy, he also really loved that about her. Yes, _loved_.

Clearing his thoughts for a moment, he focused them on Jaz. He really needed to know that she was ok, and if he knew anything about her by now, he was pretty sure he knew where she was.

Bypassing the elevator, he headed straight for the stairwell and strode all the way up to the roof. Once there he opened the door as slowly and as quietly as he could, channelling Jaz's ninja qualities.

Through the gap, he was relieved to see her laying on one of the lounge chairs, her head tilted towards the stars. He couldn't see her face, or tell if her eyes were open or closed, but for now, just seeing her and knowing that she was there was enough.

His elevated heart rate, which came from his worry that he had ruined things between them, slowly started to dissipate. Seeing her there calmed him.

He would give her the space she needed. He would give her the time she needed.

But he also knew without a shadow of a doubt that what he felt for her was real. It was true. He was in love with her. And if giving her time was the way for her to process this, then so be it.

Closing the door slowly, he went back down the stairs, all the way to the ground floor. He needed a drink.

* * *

"Kind of late for a swim." Xander greeted Jaz as he sat down on the lounge chair next to hers.

Moving into a sitting position, she looked over at him, "Thanks for coming," she said appreciatively, but couldn't quite meet his eyes with hers.

"Of course. I told you could call me whenever you needed to. And this also gets me out of doing a mountain of paperwork at the moment, so I'm happy to oblige."

Jaz knew he was putting a light spin on things to help ease the situation, and she was thankful for that.

Not knowing where or how to start, Jaz was quiet for a minute. There was so much running through her head. She knew she had to speak to someone and one of her teammates didn't feel like the right person for this job. She didn't want to unload any of this on them when they were such a tight group. It wouldn't be fair.

So it was Xander that she had called. She had started to trust him when they had first met in Incirlik, and that had continued to grow even more so over the last couple of weeks. He was easy to talk to and she didn't feel threatened or on edge when she spoke to him.

Xander himself knew that this was definitely progress for Jaz. Recognising that she needed to talk to someone was leaps and bounds from where she first was when they had first met in Incirlik. She had opened up more and more over the last couple of weeks and to get to this point—no matter what it was about—he knew that she was definitely on the right track.

Knowing that he might need to nudge her a little he ventured, "So what brings you out here under the stars, Jaz?"

 _Under the stars._

This was usually where she and Adam found themselves. Together.

He watched her inhale and then exhale slowly, just like he had taught her. Just like she would do when lining up a shot to steady herself. Only this time it was to steady the mental and the emotional, not the physical.

In a small quiet voice, barely audible and gripping her hands together to keep them steady she murmured, "No one has ever told me that they love me before."

Xander waited to see if she wanted to add anything and when she didn't he asked, "Never?"

"Never." She confirmed, her eyes not lifting from her lap.

This time Xander didn't say anything, he just sat waiting to see where this went. He didn't have to wait too much longer.

"No one has ever said those words to me before… until tonight." Jaz whispered, surprising and pre-empting Xander when she immediately continued, "And I have no idea how that makes me feel."

Xander smirked, "So you've figured out how this works then, huh?"

Jaz just glanced up at him briefly to confirm, before staring straight back at her lap.

Xander had a fair idea who had said those words to her, but he didn't want to allude to that at all. He knew that if she felt any more uncomfortable than she already did, that she would clam up, and he really was taking this as progress. She had reached out. All by herself.

For the moment, he didn't want to give her a reason to take that trust away.

"Well, what did you do when you heard those words?" He asked gently

Jaz exhaled before answering in a soft, low and almost ashamed voice, "I ran away."

"Because you didn't know how to respond or because those words genuinely made you feel uncomfortable?"

"I – I'm… I'm not sure," She shrugged, "There's a part of me that doesn't feel worthy of those words. There's got to be a reason why I've never heard them."

Xander's heart went out to Jaz just hearing that. They were yet to delve too much into that part of her life, but he knew snippets that she had revealed.

"Jaz, I know you haven't had an easy time of it, and you've been dealt some harsh blows in life and I'd like to talk more in depth about it sometime. But, that doesn't make you unworthy of love, or unworthy of receiving love. Maybe it's about learning to love yourself, and being comfortable with yourself and who you are and your story, so that you can feel comfortable receiving love."

Jaz listened and took that in. "I shouldn't have run, should I?"

"I think if this person feels for you how they say they do, and knows you well, they would realise that you needed to be alone; that being alone gives you an opportunity to examine your thoughts and feelings, and to process them."

"I hope so."

Xander really felt for Jaz in that moment. This woman was a soldier, working at the most elite level. She could read a situation with a glance, and protect herself physically better than 99.9 percent of the population, but when it came to matters of the heart, she was at a loss.

"Jaz, not everyone you meet is going to hurt you, or leave you. You shouldn't base your future on the past, or let the past dictate your future. Some people will come into your life and make you happy. They will support you, make you a better person, and love you. Some people will give you more than what you ask for."

Jaz looked up to meet Xander's gaze, "Have you met Preach? You two would get along really well."

"I've heard that before actually."

Taking a deep breath and getting back to the issue, Jaz admitted, "I don't know how to respond. I don't know what to say."

"Tell them that. Be honest. Tell them everything you have just told me. If this person's love is real, they will understand."

Jaz nodded slowly. Adam will understand. She should have realised that before she left; before she walked away. He deserved better than that.

But Xander was right. Being alone did help her to examine and process her thoughts and feelings. And she hoped that Adam would understand that too.

"Thanks for coming here." She said appreciatively.

"I told you I was available anytime, I'm glad you took me up on it. Just don't be too hard on yourself, Jaz. We are all a work in progress, that's what life is."

With the faintest of smiles on her face, she thanked him again before he left. She did feel a bit better after talking to him. Confiding in someone neutral was much easier than one of her teammates in a matter like this.

She stayed out there longer though. She still needed to be alone and ever since Adam had introduced her to the stars, they had been a sanctuary for her. Their soothing ability were remarkable, always reminding her that the world was so much bigger than herself or her own problems. She gazed up at them, trying to remember some of the stories he had told her about them and then the irony of the situation hit her.

She was using the stars as an outlet from someone who had introduced the stars to her in the first place.

What a mess. She hoped Adam would forgive her for being such a coward.

When she eventually went back down to her room, she felt guilty at the relief she felt that Adam wasn't there. She really needed this solitude at the moment. Which also totally contradicted her need to be in his arms. The safety and refuge she always felt with him, was not what she could deal with at that moment, and it was causing a whirlwind of emotions within her.

She did the only thing she could manage right then and that was to lock the adjoining door from her side. She needed to do it, and once again deep down, she knew that Adam would understand. She needed to get herself and her thoughts together and at the moment, this was the way how.

* * *

Dalton sat in the bar downstairs with a glass of whiskey sitting in front of him. He sat twirling the glass in his fingertips staring into the amber liquid.

He hadn't come down here to get drunk. But he needed to be away from his room, from _their_ room, to think.

He hadn't meant to blurt out how he felt to Jaz like that. In fact he hadn't decided when he was going to tell her at all, he was still trying to make sense of it himself. It was a new feeling and a very unfamiliar feeling, and he had no idea… about anything.

But he did know that his feelings were real. That was the one thing he was certain about. They scared him, but there was no mistaking it now. In fact, he was a bit bewildered at how he hadn't realised it sooner. Perhaps it was because it was being supressed by the military's rules governing their relationship. Or perhaps it was just because neither of them knew how to deal with their feelings at all, let alone recognise them.

Despite all that, he wasn't someone to run away from the hard stuff. Swallowing the remainder of his drink, he made his way back up to his room, not knowing if Jaz would be there or not, but determined to try and talk to her about all of this.

When he stepped into his room, he noticed that the adjoining door between their rooms—that was almost permanently left open—was closed.

Creeping over towards it, he tried the handle and found it locked.

Fuck. He didn't know what to make of that.

He hoped like hell that it was just Jaz trying to work through whatever she needed to. Deep down he knew that's what it was about, he just didn't want her shutting him out.

Maybe after sleeping on it, tomorrow would be a better day to try and sort this out.

That's if either of them managed to get any sleep.

* * *

Jaz had a restless night. She tossed and turned, even got up and paced the room multiple times and fought against every fibre of her being that wanted to unlock that adjoining door and crawl into bed with Adam.

She knew he was in there. She had heard the slight twist of the door handle earlier when he had checked the door and the guilt she felt at locking that door was eating away at her.

She went right up to the door several times and was so close to turning that handle, but she just couldn't do it tonight. She rested her forehead against the door instead and hoped that Adam couldn't hear her rapid heart rate.

She knew he must be feeling terrible, and she felt awful about that, but her need to be alone for a bit longer superseded that. Like Xander said, she needed to process these feelings and she knew that Adam would understand her need for solitude at the moment. She just hoped she hadn't hurt him too much.

* * *

On the other side of that door, Dalton was doing much the same. He had slept very little and had even been up doing sit-ups, push-ups, burpees and anything else he could think of to tire his body and keep him occupied.

But none of it was working. None of it could take his mind off Jaz and this whole situation.

He knew she was in her room. He could hear her intermittently pacing the room—her ninja skills not in full force tonight—no doubt trying to tire herself out and keep her mind occupied as well. But knowing Jaz like he did, and even more so now, he doubted very much that anything would work.

Multiple times he fought the urge to knock on that door. He came close; went right up to it with his hand raised ready to knock, only to think better of it. Instead he pressed his forehead to the door and just took a few long deep breaths, hoping that the thundering of his heart beat wasn't audible through that door.

* * *

Jaz was up and at the gym early the next morning. She had barely slept, but she was used to that on the job.

She just couldn't be in her bedroom anymore knowing that Adam was right next door. Her need to be in his arms was so great, and yet she was still not quite ready to face him.

And she was scared that she had ruined everything.

The punching bag sure copped a pounding that session. In one of her very favourite pastimes, she used everything she had to rid her body of the pent up frustration she was feeling.

Frustration at herself.

She owed Adam an explanation, she was just trying to get up the courage to do so.

A couple of hours later she was at the shooting range, something that always gave her a sense of calm.

It's almost paradoxical that the same gun that put down the bad guys, is the same piece of equipment that gave her the most solace. The most peace. It was as if she saw the world so much more clearly when she was shooting, which is probably why she was so damn good at her job.

This is where McG found her a couple of hours later.

"You weren't at breakfast."

"I was up early." Jaz murmured, not entirely surprised to see him.

"Top didn't know where you were, but I figured you'd be here. Everything ok?"

Jaz looked at him and smiled wryly, "You sound like you care."

"Come on Jazzy, I'm actually being serious, what's up?"

Jaz hesitated for a moment and opened her mouth as if to say something before deciding against it and shaking her head slightly, "I'm fine."

McG sighed, "Look, Top not knowing where you were was a pretty clear sign that something's happened. I know I'm not Elijah, so I understand you not wanting to talk to me, but I just want you to know that you're not alone, Jaz. Not ever."

She kept her eyes cast downwards and heard him sigh, but as he started to walk away, Jaz called him back, "Wait, McG. Did Top say anything?"

McG turned back around to face her and noticed the look of genuine curiosity on her face, "Nah, you know Top, he's like a vault."

Jaz just lowered her head, not sure if she was glad that Adam hadn't said anything, or disappointed. She was so lost in her thoughts that she barely noticed that McG was still talking.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"I said that no matter what has happened, Top loves you. You'll figure it out."

Jaz didn't respond to that. She didn't know how to. How did McG know that, if Adam hadn't said anything to him?

The question must have been written all over her face because McG answered her softly but purposefully without her having to say a thing.

"C'mon Jaz, I know I've only known Top a little longer than you have, but he wouldn't be with you like this if he didn't love you. He wouldn't be _risking_ it if he didn't love you. He's not that guy. We all know that. And deep inside you do too. It takes a LOT to get through Top's walls, but clearly you have done, almost from day one. He's always been different with you, it just took the two of you a little longer to notice it than the rest of us. Elijah knew it too."

She felt a prickle of tears at the mention of Elijah knowing. She missed him so much, but she was also realising right there and then that she had other friends, other _best friends_ that looked out for her too.

Blinking away the tears before they could fall, she nudged her head in the direction of the range, McG understanding that she wanted to take him on.

He knew that was her way of letting him in, but she surprised him when she said gently, "For the record, I don't need you to be Elijah. I just need you to be you."

When he turned to smile at her she threw in, "Bad shot and all," for good measure.

"There she is," He threw back at her.

He knew when she was teasing him that she was ok. And he needed to make sure she was ok. They were a tight team, and Jaz was like a sister to him, even more so after they all lost Elijah.

* * *

Amir was walking through the hotel lobby when he saw Dalton ordering coffee at the café.

"Need some caffeine, Top?"

"You could say that."

"Are we all having dinner together tonight? Want to just eat here in the hotel?"

"I actually haven't heard from Jaz or McG – but yeah, that sounds like a plan. I don't feel like going far."

Noticing that his Captain sounded a little flat he asked, "Everything ok?"

"Yeah." Dalton replied with a big sigh, "I think I'm just going to head back to my room, try and grab a nap. Let me know dinner plans if you see the others."

"Sure," Amir agreed, but finding it strange that Dalton wouldn't just hear the plans from Jaz. He wondered if something had happened, but didn't pry.

He hadn't been at breakfast with the others that morning, he had gone over to Hannah's late last night and was only just heading back to the hotel now. Maybe suggesting dinner together hadn't been the right move.

He sat in the café and ordered a coffee himself and a short while later he saw McG and Jaz walking through the hotel lobby. After flagging them down, they joined him.

When their own orders arrived, Amir suggested dinner that evening.

"Top seemed pretty tired, so maybe we just eat here tonight?"

"You saw Top?" Jaz asked, trying not to appear too interested, but also desperately wanting to know how he was.

"He was here just before you guys arrived. He was heading for a nap, he looked… exhausted."

Jaz exchanged a quick glance with McG, before looking down at her hands. As if battling with herself internally, she was silent for a minute before standing up, managing to look both afraid and determined at the same time.

"I might head for a nap too, text me the dinner plans, yeah?"

"Sure." Amir quickly agreed.

"You got this, Jazzy." McG encouraged her, gripping her elbow before she walked away with the ghost of a smile on her face in appreciation of his support.

Amir looked quizzically at McG, eyebrows raised, to which McG just shrugged. He had spent a bit of time with Jaz at the shooting range, but as for what was wrong, he still had no idea.

* * *

Jaz rode the elevator to her room, all the while trying to figure out what to say to Adam.

She felt awful for walking out on him the night before and for avoiding him for much of the day today. She couldn't imagine what he had thought of her just leaving last night and reacting the way she did. If she could take it back and do it all over again, she would. But like many of her regrets—it was impossible.

Instead, she would fall on her sword and try to explain herself, just like Xander had suggested the night before. She had needed this time alone, this time to process the situation and try and wrap her head around it.

The thought of someone _loving_ her was just so foreign to her, that she had needed to let it sit. She just hoped that in trying to protect herself, she hadn't wounded Adam too much. She just hoped that he would forgive her.

Once she was in her room, she sat on her bed to gather herself for a few moments and then with a surge of determination walked over to the adjoining door, still locked from last night.

With her heart pounding in her chest, she unlocked the door on her side, took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock on the door.

* * *

Dalton had just stepped out of the shower.

He'd been to the gym not long ago and had completed a punishing weights workout. He'd grabbed the coffee when he bumped into Amir, but hadn't drunk it.

He really was going to lie down for a nap so he didn't need the caffeine. He could count the minutes he had slept last night.

He just wished he knew what Jaz was thinking and he hoped he hadn't scared her off. He _did_ know that she likes some solitude to process things and he really hoped that was all she was doing now.

But after the last few weeks, not having spoken to her, or seen her, or held her, or touched her for so long—hurt.

He _needed_ Jaz, and that was all the more apparent now.

He sat on the edge of his bed, wishing he could sleep with Jaz in his arms, instead he stood up to plug his phone into the charger and just as he did so, he heard a knock coming from Jaz's side of the adjoining door.

He felt his heart thud in his chest.

Swallowing deeply and feeling his pulse begin to race, he felt… nervous. A feeling he was unfamiliar with. But then again, a lot of feelings that he was unfamiliar with were coming to the forefront where Jaz was concerned.

Taking a breath to calm himself, he walked towards the door, undid the lock on his side and opened it up slowly.

There, on the other side stood the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Even though she looked exhausted; even though she looked scared and relieved at the same time; even though he could see her insecurity in the depths of her eyes, she was still beautiful.

Holding each other's gaze, neither of them moving, they stood there both unsure of what to do next.

Jaz couldn't get over the fact that even with very little sleep and clearly looking drained, he was still the most handsome man she had ever seen. Those eyes and those lips were enough to make her melt, and he just exuded masculinity, which she found immensely attractive.

She knew that she needed to make the first move. She took a tentative step forward, moving into the actual door space, and a little closer to him.

Looking into his eyes; those beautiful crystal blue eyes, she could see his own nervousness and his own uncertainty shining in them. She had hurt him, and she wanted to fix it.

"I did it again, didn't I?" She asked him in her low, gravelly voice.

Seeing him frown slightly, not quite catching on, she continued, "I ran away."

He opened his mouth to say something, but not knowing _what_ to say, he closed it again.

Seeing this play out on his face, Jaz knew this one was up to her to try and fix.

She knew that it was her who had run and it was her who had avoided him, and even though she had done what she needed to do, and what she knew would comfort her and give her thinking time, she still felt awful about it.

She took another step forward and raised her hand to lay it on his cheek tentatively, as if trying to wipe away the hurt she had caused. She felt him lean into her palm slightly and not being able to hold back she wrapped both her arms around him, holding on tight as she buried her head in his neck.

Not for the first time, she marvelled at how well she fit against him. Snuggled up against his chest, she could feel his heart beating. It was fast and thumping and she knew that she was the cause of that.

She didn't realise she had been holding her breath until she felt his arms wrap around her, holding her just as tightly as she was holding him. She let out a long relieved sigh and pulled him even closer when she felt his chin rest on top of her head.

They stood in that spot, not moving, but both in awe at how the feel of each other calmed everything. It soothed their heart rates and alleviated their nerves, and they both knew that no one else, had or could, have that effect on them.

Adam had never been as relieved as when Jaz had stepped into his arms, not quite knowing what he had expected from that knock on the door. He stood there with his arms wrapped around her, just breathing her in and thanking everyone and everything that she had come to him herself.

She fit like a glove against him. Her small body was completely pressed up against his and as he moved his head to place his cheek against hers, he heard her whisper, "I'm sorry."

When he didn't respond, she tried again, "I'm sorry for…"

Cutting her off by pulling away slightly, he quickly placed a hand on her cheek and placed his thumb so it was against her lips; the lips that so desperately wanted to explain everything to him.

With his thumb effectively silencing her, he looked into the depth of her eyes before asking her softly, "Do you want to take a nap with me?"

With her eyes wide and shining with tears of relief, not expecting that question at all, she knew that even though they needed to talk about this, they were going to be ok.

When she nodded her head slowly in response to his question, he lowered his hand from her cheek, grabbed her own hand and led her to the bed.

Jaz stripped off to her underwear and Dalton passed her his t-shirt to throw on. After that, they both climbed in, seeking each other's warmth instantly and clung together.

It was if they hadn't seen each other in months. The emotional wringer that they had both been through in the last day honestly made it feel like an eternity since they had seen each other, let alone been close to each other.

But being close to each other is where they belonged.

This was where the hurt and uncertainty dissipated. And once they had found a comfortable position, they fell into a deep sleep, comforted by each other's scent, warmth and heartbeat.

* * *

 **So, I tossed up a lot with what way to go with this chapter. Thank you so much to the people who left feedback on the last chapter saying that you thought it was in character for Jaz to initially run. I really do think that is what she would do, and she's obviously still struggling with her own feelings. We saw on the show that she and Dalton butted head a few times, and I don't think that would necessarily change, even given this relationship they are now in.**

 **Sorry to those who were upset with the ending of the last chapter. I guess with a story this long, it can't always be sunshine and rainbows. There will be ups and downs, and more to come. But I'm firmly and passionately Team Jalton - never forget that.**

 **As always, thank you so much for continuing to read this story. Your comments make my day and keep me motivated. Much love to you all XXX**


	38. Chapter 38

**Thank you so much for the lovely comments on my last chapter, I appreciate every single one of them SO much. Here's the next chapter for you. As always, if you need to refresh your memory, please re-read the previous chapter. Hope you enjoy :)**

 **I don not own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 38**

Waking up from their shared nap, Adam and Jaz had never felt so well rested; sleeping side-by-side mostly had that effect on them.

It was their phones buzzing that had woken them, and when they checked them it was Amir texting with dinner plans.

 _ **Made a reservation at the bar at 7**_ – Amir

 _ **I can make it later if you need me to…**_ – Amir

 _ **Jaz, are you awake?**_ – Amir

 _ **Top?**_ – Amir

Sighing, Adam replied quickly.

 _ **7 is fine. We'll be ready soon**_ – Top.

 _ **Oh thank god, thought we were going to have to send out a search and rescue**_ – McG

Still wrapped around each other, Jaz asked Adam what the time was.

"We have half an hour before dinner," he answered her while simultaneously pulling her close to him again.

Watching a slew of expressions cross her face, he interjected before she could even open her mouth.

"Let's talk later, yeah?"

It was like he had read her mind, but that didn't surprise her.

"Ok." She replied, not quite being able to meet his eyes.

Putting a hand below her chin and lifting it so her coffee coloured eyes met his, he couldn't help but kiss her softly on her lips, wanting to eradicate the uncertainty he saw in them.

"We're ok Jaz, I promise. We just need to talk." He murmured softly to her, his hand moving to cradle her cheek, "OK?"

Seeing the earnestness in his cobalt eyes, she couldn't help but feel reassured. She knew they needed to talk—about a lot of things, but knowing that he wasn't angry at her eased the guilt she felt about running away on him.

"Ok." She answered him and lifted her fingers so they sifted through his beard to lay against his own cheek. Leaning forward to join their lips together again, she lingered on the taste of them.

They might still have a lot to talk about, a lot to figure out and a lot to process, but she wouldn't want to do that with anyone else but him.

* * *

"I'm going to head back to Montana the day after tomorrow." McG told them at dinner that evening.

Amir raised his eyebrows, "Mom calling?"

McG shrugged, "Actually yeah. And I want to spend some more time with her while I can, you know?"

Amir immediately reigned in the sarcasm, "Of course. You should."

He knew how special family were and the importance of spending every moment you could with them while you were able to.

"Absolutely." Dalton agreed with him.

"Who am I gonna whip at the shooting range?" Jaz asked jokingly.

"Jaz, it doesn't matter who was with you, you'd whip all their butts anyway." McG conceded.

They all nodded their heads in agreement. Jaz's superior shooting skills weren't a secret; they all knew it.

McG knew that something had gone on with Jaz and Dalton, so he didn't want to ask them what their plans were just yet, but he knew it was time for him to head home for a bit. They had been in DC nearly two weeks, which was what the original plan was. He had wanted to make sure Jaz and Dalton were comfortable in their sessions with Xander Martin, and he was content with that for now. If either one of them desperately wanted him to stay, he would—without a question. But he sensed it was ok for him to go home for now.

Even so, when Dalton and Amir headed to the bar for more drinks, McG quickly checked in with Jaz.

"Hey, if you need me to stay longer, just say the word."

Jaz knew she could be sarcastic or blunt or dry, as she so often was with McG. Instead she chose just to tell the truth.

"I'm good. Go see your Mom. It's important."

"You sure you're good?"

"I will be. _We_ will be."

"That's good to hear. You guys got lucky. Look after each other."

Jaz felt her cheeks warm at McG's words. She _was_ lucky. _They_ were lucky. She would never have guessed that they would be in this situation not so long ago, and now that they were, she wanted to make sure she didn't jeopardise it by running at every drop of a hat.

Looking up and catching Adam's eye as he returned to the table, she smiled softly at him and felt her cheeks redden even more deeply when he returned the same smile, seeing the tenderness in his eyes.

He made her feel flustered.

He made her feel like she couldn't breathe.

He made her feel things she had never felt before.

* * *

"I'm sorry I ran."

Jaz and Adam were sitting side-by-side on the couch in her room. After dinner they had briefly thought about heading to the roof to seek comfort in the stars and the large expanse of night sky, but they had thought better of it. A conversation like this couldn't be in a public place.

"You don't need to be sorry." Adam said gently in response to her.

"Maybe so, but I mean it. I need to stop running. I know it's my go-to move, but truthfully I just didn't know how to respond, or what to say."

Adam turned to face her, "Jaz, I know that you needed to be alone. I get that. And I know what I said to you was probably a shock. I'm not mad that you ran. I was just worried that I had frightened you off."

Jaz turned to face him in response, "I was worried you would be hurt; that I might have ruined everything."

"It's going to take a lot more than that to get rid of me," Adam soothed her with a small smile on his face.

Jaz held his gaze with her own, thinking about what Xander had said to her on the roof last night about being honest; being honest with Adam.

Inhaling and exhaling slowly, lowering her eyes from his and concentrating on her breathing, she opened up to him a little more, her voice sounding even deeper than usual, "No one has ever said those words to me before. It… uh, it surprised me."

Adam was silent for a moment, his heart silently breaking for her and her life thus far, before quietly admitting, "It surprised me too."

Jaz lifted her eyes back to focus on his, and could see the truth in his eyes.

He continued, wanting to further explain, "Not when I yelled it to you, but when I _first_ realised it. I honestly never meant to tell you like that. I would love to take that back and tell you differently."

"Well I was being—argumentative…" Jaz conceded.

"You wouldn't be you if you weren't being argumentative." Adam joked, teasing a smile from her.

Reaching for her and pulling her so she sat on his lap, he positioned them so that one of his arms was cradling her body close to his, whilst the other hand took one of hers and held on tight. He wanted her to be close to him when he continued.

"Look, Jaz," he started softly looking her in the eye, speaking slowly and deliberately, "I meant what I said. And I'm pretty sure I've felt this way a lot longer than I realised, even though it's only just clicked. It snuck up on me, and I've never felt this way before and that scares me. It's unfamiliar and I'm nervous and I'm worried that I'll stuff something up—but I meant it."

His eyes never left hers and he intertwined their fingers together, griping them tightly as if to reassure her before continuing.

"I don't need you to say it back; I have no expectations, and I don't need you to respond. I just want you to know it. I just need you to accept it as true, and I just need you to believe it. I love you, Jaz. I am _in_ love with you."

Jaz's eyes had glazed over with tears. He had said it again, and she still didn't know how to respond. But with the desperate look in his eyes, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was telling the truth. Adam Dalton was the most honest person she had ever met, and he certainly wouldn't say something like this unless he meant it.

His words made every single cell in her body yield; like every part of her wanted to surrender to him and the way he made her feel.

She just wished she knew what to say. She wished her fucked up and damaged childhood hadn't left her emotionally stunted. She just _did not_ know what to say. Not verbally anyway.

But she could sure as hell say it to him in another way, because she did know how it made her feel.

With her eyes never leaving his, she slowly changed her position so she was straddling his lap, a knee either side of his legs.

Their eyes never left each other's. His were desperately searching hers, trying to read a reaction of any sort; hers were trying to convey that despite her lack of words, she was feeling so much. So, so much.

Leaning forward, placing her hands on either side of his neck, she lowered her head until their noses brushed against each other. She held herself there for a few seconds, just breathing him and his delicious scent in.

She watched him swallow thickly and felt him shudder. He was nervous. He was nervous about what he had revealed to her and sensing that, Jaz wanted to take that away from him. She wanted to ease his thoughts and fears.

She may not have had the words, but her need for him was overwhelming. She softly, but quickly tasted his lips, just brushing her own against his, before pulling away again just slightly to stare into those eyes.

Those eyes that she could drown in; those eyes that made her feel vulnerable, and those eyes, with the way they were looking at her right now, made her feel loved for the first time in her life.

She didn't doubt his words, not when his eyes reflected every word he had spoken, and more.

Her actions needed to be her response. The hands on his neck worked their way into the hair on the back of his head and she leaned forward again to kiss him. She kissed him slowly and deeply, feeling their lips spark against each other as he responded instantly.

His own hands clutched at her waist, giving him an anchor as he not only rode the wave of his own emotions, but also of the feelings that Jaz was transferring with her actions.

They tilted their heads to deepen the kiss further; their lips massaging the other and melding together. Their tongues tasted and caressed each other and they got lost in this kiss as it continued to gain momentum.

Jaz pressed herself against Adam, her whole upper body flush against his, feeling the heat he emitted from every pore in his body warming her own. They both groaned from the searing heat of each other, and Adam pulled Jaz even closer into him; his arms no longer clutching her waist, but grabbing her hips to shift her further forward so that no space whatsoever existed between them. As if they were one entity.

Their lips and bodies changed momentum as the kiss turned from slow and emotional to desperate and urgent.

They started to rock together, and the rush of their emotions, spread to the rest of their bodies.

Adam held Jaz's hips close to his own and she could feel the length of him hard, encased in his jeans.

Their arms moved to wrap around each other, still searching for ways to be even closer as they continued to rock together, lips never leaving each other and their desire building by the millisecond.

When they finally broke away momentarily to catch their breath, their chests were heaving with the desperation they felt for each other.

Jaz took advantage of this moment to unbutton his shirt and push it back from his body. She swept her soft and capable hands across his well-toned chest, still amazed that this man could evoke so much feeling inside of her.

Catching her lips with his again as her hands continued their path, he breathed hotly, "You're so beautiful, Jaz."

His words made her kiss him even harder, before she pulled away quickly to shed her own t-shirt.

He leaned forward, encasing her ribcage with his hands while he pressed hot kisses to her chest and sternum, as always paying special attention to her scars.

He reached around to unhook her bra and when it fell away he redirected his attention to her breasts. Massaging them. Kneading them.

When he leaned forward to take her nipple in his mouth, she couldn't help but throw her head back in a moan, letting the ripples of pleasure take over. He held her hips close to his, as he divided his attention between both nipples. Licking them. Sucking them. Running his teeth over them.

He could not get enough of Jaz Khan if he tried.

Feeling this escalating, their hips grinding against each other, Jaz quickly moved to stand up to remove her jeans and underwear. Dalton quickly did the same, wriggling out of the remainder of his clothing, before moving to the edge of the couch and grabbing her thighs to draw her to him.

With his hands clasping her legs while she stood in front of him, he looked up to lock his eyes with hers as he leaned forward to press a kiss to the juncture between her thighs. Watching her eyes glaze over, he closed his own as he let his tongue explore her, seeking out her clit before tonguing it gently.

The feel of his tongue against her had her gripping his head to both hold him close and give herself an anchor, as the sensations he was giving her made her legs feel weak.

His mouth tingled as he continued to taste her glistening sex and he buried his head even deeper as he moved his tongue all the way through her slit. He could taste her juices and knew how turned on she was, which was only having the same effect on him.

Pulling himself away, he smiled at her as she groaned in protest and using the grip he still had on her thighs, he pulled her back towards him.

He locked eyes with her as he lowered her back down to straddle his lap and at the same time he eased her down onto his cock, burying himself deep inside of her.

They both released deep, guttural moans as their bodies joined together, both of them pausing to just take in the sensation of their union.

After a moment, Jaz started to move. She was so wet with arousal that her movements were effortless and she could feel Adam's cock deep inside of her. She stretched around him, clasping him tight, unleashing a new flurry of shivers within them both.

"You feel so good." Adam mumbled as he started to lift his own hips in time with hers as their rhythm became more frantic.

Wrapping his arms around her to keep her as close as possible only heightened Jaz's excitement and the pressure between her legs intensified as she rode him faster and faster.

He slid one hand down to rub her clit, causing her to cry out in ecstasy and crush her lips against his in a searing kiss.

"So do you." Jaz managed to eventually mumble against his lips; her eyes locked with his as they rocked and moved simultaneously, feeling Adam reaching further and deeper inside of her.

They were both enthralled in this moment, riding the wave building inside of them until that wave reached its peak and crashed on the shore as mind blowing orgasms swept through them both. Wave after wave of pleasure crashed through them both; Jaz's grip on Adam's shoulders almost painful as she clung to him so as not to topple over.

Their chests heaved with exhaustion and their body's glistened with sweat. They were stuck together, arms wrapped around each other, holding tight to the magnificence that they only found in each other.

Jaz might still be confused about her feelings for Adam, but the way he made her feel when they were together like this, was unmistakeable.

Beautiful. Wanted. Loved

They continued to clutch onto each other for a while longer, not wanting this closeness to end.

* * *

Jaz was the first to wake the next morning. They had slept in the same bed, not being able to leave each other after the emotional heaviness of the last couple of days.

As always she found herself with her head on his chest, snuggled up to him and she couldn't help but just stare at him. In sleep he looked so content and so tranquil. She could almost imagine what he would have looked like as a young boy.

Gazing at him; her hand making lazy patterns across his chest, she wondered how on earth she had gotten so lucky. Joining this team three years ago had been a saving grace for her. It was the best thing that had ever happened to her, up until now.

The last three years had been the best of her life, but she would never had guessed that she would find herself here—in Adam Dalton's bed.

The man who had made her feel welcome from the very first second they met.

The man who had never questioned her skills or talent or used her gender against her.

The man who she had silently and covertly appraised the last three years.

And the man who had told her that he loves her.

That he was _in love_ with her.

And while she was still struggling with her own feelings, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was telling the truth.

Even though it scared her.

Adam started to rouse and could feel Jaz's eyes on him. Blinking his eyes open, he tilted his head to look at her and caught her staring at him, as if looking for answers.

"Morning." He greeted her, mumbling in a sleep affected voice.

"Morning."

"You ok?" He asked softly.

"Yeah."

"You sure?" He checked, brushing her hair back from her face and tucking it behind her ear.

"I'm sure. The one thing I do know for sure is that I want to be with you."

"Ditto" Adam replied softly, a smile spreading across his handsome face

Jaz knew that she was blushing, and she wished like hell she could control that, but so much seemed to be out of her control these days, she knew it was useless.

"We're good?" He wanted to check with her, still wary of her feelings and the enormity of the last couple of days.

Leaning even closer to him, she whispered, "We're good," before getting lost in his lips again.

* * *

"So the last time I saw you, you were on a rooftop, sitting under the stars and struggling with someone having told you that they love you—for the very first time. How have you been since then?"

"I, um—I spent pretty much the next day by myself, mostly. I needed to process it. Needed to let it sit."

"And did you? Process it, that is." Xander asked gently.

"Somewhat." Jaz nodded slowly. "We talked and I believe what he said. I just—I still don't know how to respond."

"Do you think it's because you don't know how you feel yourself?"

Jaz didn't answer, she just sat and lowered her eyes, thinking about what she wanted to say next. Leaving that question alone for now, since she was still having trouble answering another one of Xander's questions – _Why did it make you break?_ – She instead replied with something that had been on her mind.

"I have trust issues—clearly. The significant men in my life have either let me down or are gone. I was of no interest to my Dad from the moment I was born." She clenched her jaw tight before continuing, "I lost Elijah and he was the first person to ever make me feel like I was a part of a family. I'm afraid to let myself just _be_ with this person. What if they just up and leave? What if their feelings change? What if I stuff it up? I never had my Dad. Elijah is gone. I don't want to lose this person too."

Xander was quiet for a moment, before softly venturing, "You automatically assume you're going to lose this person?"

Jaz didn't lift her eyes from where they rested on her lap while she mumbled, "It's hard not to."

"And you've discussed this together?" Xander was curious.

"To some extent. I know we clearly have a lot more to discuss. I'm just confused. I don't want to scare him off, or for him to become impatient with me." Jaz sounded almost forlorn talking about this.

Xander was in a difficult spot. He knew exactly who Jaz was talking about—but she didn't know that. And he doubted very much that Dalton has told her that he knows at this stage. He needed to proceed without putting his foot in it. He didn't want to lose any of the trust he has managed to build up with Jaz. That would be a massive step backward.

"You know Jaz, there's something to be said for communication. It's the key to any relationship and it can be the bridge between confusion and clarity. And clarity comes from action—not thought. My suggestion would be to talk to this person, _really_ talk to them. That's not to say that you don't still have a lot to process or think about—but maybe you could try and do it together. Ask all the questions that you have. Talk out any issues that come up. It might help to clarify your own feelings and your own fears."

Jaz listened silently to Xander's words and she knew he was right. Despite her talk with Adam the night before, she still had so many questions she needed answering. She was only going to get those answers if she did the asking.

"Also," Xander continued, "remember back to when we were in Incirlik, you were afraid of losing your team; your guys?"

Jaz nodded her confirmation.

"We spoke about you being lucky to have them. Well if this person means a lot to you, feel lucky to have him too. Feel lucky that he is in your life and you have this time to spend with him. We've learnt the hard way on this job that the rug can be pulled out from underneath us in a flash. Appreciate every moment; who knows, it might help with your clarity also."

Jaz knew Xander was right. He had been right in Incirlik and he was right now. It was precious advice that he was giving her and she was determined to take it. No matter how confused she was with her feelings for Adam, and how intimidating his feelings for her were, there was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to spend as much time with him as she could, every minute in fact.

* * *

"So how's things?" Xander asked Dalton later that same day.

Dalton exhaled loudly, "Well, I told Jaz how I feel about her."

"You told her that you're in love with her?"

"Actually, I yelled it at her."

At Xander's frown, Dalton spent the next few minutes relaying the story to him, not every single detail, but enough to be able to explain the situation.

He explained that his relationship with Jaz had always been great and had always been easy, but that they had been known to butt heads on occasions. It wasn't new. She challenges him, and he challenges her, but he knows that's part of what makes them work so well. They bring out in each other what they usually keep buried down deep inside, and that's why they have always worked. As team mates, as friends, and now as lovers.

Xander of course, already knew that Dalton had admitted his feelings to Jaz, having had that conversation with Jaz on the hotel rooftop. But he was finding himself in an increasingly difficult position. Dalton didn't know about that conversation, and Jaz didn't know that he was aware it was Dalton that said those words to her.

His sessions were of course confidential, and he wouldn't reveal what either of them had talked about—unless of course it was a genuine concern as he had told them at the very beginning—but he thought he would mention one thing to Dalton.

"Before we go any further, do you have any intention of telling Jaz that you've talked to me about this? I just need to be clear on that."

"Shit, I hadn't thought of that. Uhh, yeah I'll tell her. It could get really confusing otherwise, huh?"

"Well it's entirely your prerogative, but in the spirit of honestly, definitely think about it."

Dalton knew as soon as Xander suggested it that it was the right thing to do. The right thing by Jaz and the right thing by them.

"OK," Xander continued, turning back to the topic at hand, "So you've talked since then?"

"Yeah. We had a much better conversation, and I was able to explain my feelings a lot more eloquently—I think—and told her that I had no expectations from her. I just wanted her to believe it."

"Do you think she does?"

Dalton was quiet for a few moments, reflecting back on their conversation, "Yeah, I think she does."

"How do you feel now you've told her?"

"I gotta admit, it's like a weight off my shoulders. And it was like instant clarity and instant confirmation. As soon as I told her, even though it wasn't in the manner that I had wanted to, I knew straight away that nothing else was truer. Nothing had ever been so true in my life."

"Well you look and sound happy." Xander observed after watching a smile wash over Dalton's face.

"I am. I was worried that it had been too much for her; that I would scare her away. And I'm conscious of that. But it's… it's a great feeling."

Xander smiled back at him, "I'm happy for you."

Dalton smiled almost shyly in response. He wasn't used to talking about his feelings, at least not these type of feelings. He'd never had these type of feelings to talk about before anyway. But he had to admit that he felt so much better for it.

"I would encourage you to try and keep your communication up with each other. Communicate even when it's uncomfortable or uneasy, it's the lifeline of any relationship. _Any_ relationship. You would know that just from the work you do and from being out in the field. This is no different."

Dalton nodded, "Not just a pretty face are you Xander?"

Xander chuckled at that. His relationship with Dalton went back many years. It was one filled with mutual respect and blatant honesty, which could make this part of the job easy or a hell of a lot harder. Thankfully, it wasn't the latter.

* * *

The four of them got take out and convened in Jaz's room that evening for dinner.

The next day was going to be McG's last full day with them, so they were trying to decide what to do together. They were all leaning towards finishing off exploring the monuments since they had only managed to take in half of them on their previous expedition.

Once that was decided they just settled back into eating, drinking, watching a military TV show—that was surprisingly realistic and accurate, and reminded them somewhat of their own team—and of course, just giving each other shit.

They were happy being together, and as Dalton took all of this in, even though Preach was missing from the equation, he knew he wouldn't want to spend this time with any other people.

He loved these guys.

And as he looked over at each of them, all actively engaged in the TV show, he couldn't help but settle his gaze on Jaz.

He loved her as one of the guys too. But he also loved her in many, many other ways.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed this one. Like I said in the last chapter too, I wasn't sure initially how to approach the conversation between Adam and Jaz, but it seemed to write itself in the end. There's obviously a lot more to come as they continue to figure themselves and their relationship out.**

 **Thank you for continuing to read along and for those of you who comment, you are precious and I appreciate it so much! What did you think of this chapter? Much love to you all XXX**


	39. Chapter 39

**Here's the next chapter for you! I had originally wanted to post this mid-week, but that clearly didn't happen. So I though I'd post it on a Saturday instead of a Sunday, just to change it up :) As always, I would recommend re-reading the previous chapter before tackling this one.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did.**

* * *

 **Chapter 39**

Jaz and Adam woke up together on what would be McG's last full day in DC with them.

Since Adam's declaration, they hadn't gone back to sleeping separately yet, even though they knew they needed to try that again. Their need to be together had just been too immense.

Jaz still had a lot she wanted to talk to Adam about, and a lot of questions she still had running through her head, but she knew that first thing in the morning wasn't the time for that. She wasn't a morning person at the best of times.

She still had that one question of her own that wouldn't leave her alone. It ran through her head constantly and she could hear Xander's voice as he had asked it of her.

 _Why did it make you break?_

She wished she knew and she realised that until she could answer it, it wouldn't leave her alone.

For now, she was going to enjoy this time with Adam. These moments with him in bed were her favourite, for many reasons. One of which she intended to take advantage of right now.

Manoeuvring herself so she was on top of him, before they had even exchanged any words, she began to kiss his neck, running her tongue up and down it, smiling to herself as she heard him moan. She moved her kisses lower, across his chest, marvelling at the beauty that was Adam Dalton.

Kissing lower still, down his abs which were just another display of his perfection, she arrived at her target to find him already rock hard and craving attention.

She peered up at him as she held him in her hand and ran her thumb over the underside of his shaft, and she was rewarded with a husky groan.

Lowering her gaze and with her long hair splayed out all over his torso, she swirled her tongue over his tip, smirking as she heard him gasp in anticipation of what was to come. Teasing him, she ran her tongue up and down his shaft slowly and surely, feeling his hands start to gather her hair together so he could watch her.

Adam was holding his breath, awaiting her next move and when her tongue reached his head again and he felt her sweet lips move down over his whole length and suck hard, he couldn't stop the shudder that his body emitted.

The feel of himself inside of Jaz's hot and capable mouth was incredible and he couldn't tear his eyes away from her as he watched her move up and down his cock, licking him, tasting him, taking him all the way in so he could feel himself at the back of her throat.

With each upstroke, she licked a circle around his head before swallowing his length again, and soon his hips were rocking in time to the tempo she'd set. His velvet flesh pulsed on her tongue and she couldn't get enough of him.

Encouraged by the groans and motions coming from Adam, Jaz started to massage his balls in one hand, simultaneously reaching out to stroke the smooth skin just behind them with her index finger. All the while she never took her mouth away from his throbbing length.

Adam knew he wasn't going to last much longer and as his body tightened with impending release he tried to warn her, "Jaz – Jaz, I'm going to…"

But Jaz wasn't interested. She had one agenda here, and she wasn't stopping until she achieved that.

Increasing the speed of her lips and tongue up and down his shaft, she sucked harder encouraged by his writhing beneath her. She couldn't get enough of the taste of him, and licking, sucking, massaging and pumping him, all simultaneously faster, she felt his whole body surge and his cock pulsate as he spilled himself inside of her mouth.

The groans he expended had Jaz staying put until she was sure she had obtained every last drop of him. He watched through lazy, satiated eyes as she pulled herself away from him and grabbing her as quickly as he could he kissed her hungrily.

"You. Are. So. Fucking. Sexy." He said breathlessly, punctuating each word with another kiss.

"Good morning to you too." Jaz said into his lips, not being able to pull back from them for too long.

His lips were like a drug that she just couldn't shake and before she knew it he had flipped her over and lay with his full weight on top of her, still kissing her fervently and grinding against her before moving his way down her body and returning the favour.

It was a very satisfying morning for both of them.

* * *

"At least after tomorrow there will be enough food for the rest of us." Amir mused after watching McG shovel food into his mouth at breakfast.

"It's the food that made me taller. You should try it sometime." McG retorted.

Jaz couldn't help but laugh out loud at that. Amir and McG's banter kept her constantly entertained.

They finished up eating and headed straight out for the day, wanting to make the most of their last day all together.

They were aiming to see the monuments that they had missed on their previous day trip. They spent time at each monument, taking the opportunity to explore and appreciate each one. They were all magnificent and striking, but none more so that the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial.

This is the monument that left its mark on them the most that day. It's dedicated to the tragic events that occurred on September 11, 2001, and all the 184 lives lost are represented and honoured by memorial benches, each one inscribed with a victim's name, age and location at the time of the attack.

This monument not only rendered them speechless, but it was a reminder as to why they serve their country. The atrocities and tragedies that occurred on that fateful day were part of the reason, or the inspiration behind them signing up for the military, or continuing their service. It was one of the main reasons they made sacrifices to keep their country and the world a safer place.

Those sacrifices were of varying degrees, but they were sacrifices nonetheless.

After the emotion of the memorials, Dalton had something in mind to finish off their day trip on a slightly lighter note. He got them to Anacostia Park and as he walked them towards the Anacostia River, they all started smiling.

"Are we going fishing, Top?" McG couldn't hide the enthusiasm in his voice.

"That we are."

Excitedly they all went to rent some equipment. Dalton had already thought ahead and purchased fishing licences for them.

"That's why you're the Captain, Top." Amir mused.

They set themselves up on a bridge, cast their lines and sat back to see who would make the first catch. These fish weren't edible due to chemical contamination, but since they were in a hotel, that wasn't a problem. They were fishing catch and release style and they couldn't be happier than being out in the fresh air, on the water, engaging in one of their now favourite collective past times.

Dalton loved that his team now seemed to love fishing as much as he did. He once again made a mental note to check out fishing locations near Incirlik when they were back on deployment.

None of them were surprised when Jaz caught the first fish, and she took great delight in flexing her muscles and taking photos to send to Preach.

When Amir and McG moved further down the bridge to "find a better spot", Jaz turned to Dalton with a look of wonderment on her face.

"What's got you so happy?" He asked her, glad to see her looking content.

"I've missed this. It reminds me of your Blue Ridge Mountains. Not as _spectacular_ of course, but it's just nice to be out in the fresh air again."

"It sure is."

"When we go back, I intend on doing a lot of fishing."

"When _we_ go back?" He clarified.

For a split second, Jaz almost questioned if she had said the right thing; if she shouldn't have assumed that she was welcome back at the cabin with Adam, but based on recent events and confessions, she had a pretty good idea that she didn't need to worry.

"Yeah, when _we_ go back." She answered him almost defiantly, but with a sparkle in her eye.

"Well ok then."

She watched a slow smile spread across his entire face, starting from his mouth and finishing with the crinkles around his eyes. His whole face was lit up and his eyes were shining with emotion.

"What's got you so happy?" She asked cheekily, echoing his earlier question.

Staring into her eyes and holding her gaze steady, after a quick internal debate, he took a chance and said softly, "I love you."

Jaz felt her breathe catch in her throat at those words. He had said them again, and this time they didn't make her want to run. If anything she wanted to run into his arms.

Instead, he was rewarded with a small smile and a blush that spread across her cheeks and down her neck.

That was all he needed.

After indulging her shy smile a few moments longer with his own, he managed to tear his gaze away from hers before he did something in public that he would regret.

Getting back to his, no t _heir_ mountains, couldn't come quick enough.

* * *

They decided to have dinner at the hotel again that evening since they knew that a few drinks would be consumed with it being McG's last night. That way they didn't have too far to stumble.

Paying homage to McG, they all ordered burritos given his unapologetic love for the dish, and the three alcohol drinkers ordered margaritas to go with them. Amir, as always would be keeping watch over them.

"So when are you coming out to visit me in Montana?" McG asked through a mouthful of food.

Despite giving him a filthy look for his bad manners, Amir was the first to reply, "Well I'm just going to be here in DC, so I can come anytime."

"You going to be staying at the hotel the whole time?"

"No actually." Amir blushed, "I'm going to be staying at Hannah's."

"Eyyyy, that's my boy!"

"Calm down, it's just a base. And will save the DIA money on my hotel room."

"Remind me to tell Hannah you said it's just a base."

"That's not what…"

"Easy buddy, I'm just messing with you."

"What about you two?" McG redirected to Dalton and Jaz.

Dalton looked over at Jaz pointedly.

Rolling her eyes at him but feeling herself flushing at the same time, she replied, "We are heading back to the mountains after these last few days here."

" _We_?" McG clarified.

"Yes, _we_."

All three of the guys had big grins on their faces after that comment, so deciding to exit the sausage party, Jaz went to the bar to get the next round of drinks. It's not like she and Adam being together was a secret from them anymore, but she still couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed when attention was brought to that fact.

While she was at the bar, McG commented to Dalton, "You must be looking forward to getting back home, Top."

"You can say that again. Being here has been invaluable, it's just come with its… challenges."

"I bet."

Realistically, Dalton knew that not being able to show affection in public was the least of their problems, but it was still something he was struggling with. To hold her hand in public or kiss her, or even just smile at her a certain way was fraught with disaster here. And while they had a lot of other problems to get past, nonetheless their actual jobs, getting back to the mountains and being able to just _be_ with her was something he was greatly looking forward too.

Jaz returned to the table with another tray of drinks, including three tequila shots, because the tequila in the margaritas clearly wasn't enough.

"Ok, so getting back to what we were talking about—Montana?" McG said to Dalton and Jaz.

"Yeah buddy. We will definitely figure something out." Dalton confirmed.

A couple of hours later, which had included a few more margaritas and a couple more shots, McG had caught the eye of a pretty lady at the bar. The other three laughed as he volunteered to get one last round, knowing what his primary reason for being at the bar was.

They sat at the table watching him make his move and they cheered loudly when she grabbed his phone and seemingly put her number in there.

"If the guy's pants hit the ground any faster, he'd be travelling back in time." Dalton said laughing sarcastically.

"Hey there's no rule against blowing off steam." Jaz challenged him.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Of course I am."

They grinned widely at each other, before diverting their attention back to McG at the bar.

Jaz greeted him with a high five when he arrived back at the table with their drinks.

"Pulling some of your best moves over there, buddy?"

"I've got so many moves; I don't even know what my best ones are."

"Right, ok." Jaz laughed at him while McG just shrugged.

"Did you break it to her that you're leaving tomorrow?" Amir asked.

"Nah. Didn't want to ruin her night, you know?

"Such a gentleman."

"Right? I'm maturing."

Dalton and Jaz nearly spat their margaritas out at that, causing Amir to laugh along with them.

McG just stared at them all, feigning being hurt with his hand over his heart. "Pfft, whatever," he dismissed them, before finally relenting and laughing along with them.

* * *

Later that evening after making sure McG got back to his room in one piece, Jaz and Adam were sitting together on the couch in Jaz's room, guzzling water in an effort to stave off the hangover in the morning.

Still chuckling at some of McG's antics, Jaz couldn't help but lament, "I hope when he meets the love of his life that he's completely tongue tied. And I hope I'm there to witness it."

"Why's that?"

"I just want to watch what he'd be like _without_ his best moves."

"Well love makes you do funny things, or so I'm discovering."

With a blush on her face, Jaz quizzed him, "Yeah, like what?"

"Like wanting to act like a teenager and show way too much PDA all the time."

Despite her cheeks flushing an even deeper shade of red, Jaz couldn't help but respond, "I never thought I would hear Captain Adam Dalton say something like that."

"Well you've only got yourself to blame."

"Oh, really?" She flirted.

"Uh huh."

Lowering her gaze shyly, but thankful for some alcohol in her system for liquid courage, she asked him quietly, "Can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything."

"When did you know?"

"Know what?"

Lowering her eyes, Jaz stuttered, "When—when you, when…" She stopped and took a deep breath. That liquid courage wasn't working as well as she thought, she was struggling to even say the words.

Seeing her battle with those words in her head, Adam put his hand under her chin to bring her eyes to his, "I knew for sure just a few days ago."

Jaz's eye's softened, aware that Adam had known what she was thinking about and made that moment easier for her.

"I knew for sure that I was in love with you just a few days ago, after we had spent our second night apart, but I'm starting to realise that it probably happened long before that, long before this numbskull was aware of it." Adam confessed softly.

Jaz couldn't hide the widening smile creeping across her face, before she gathered herself and asked her next question.

" _How_ did you know?"

Dalton went quiet, thinking it over; wanting to make sure what he said was nothing but the truth. Reaching out to take her hand in his, he started to answer her softly and quietly, but intentionally at the same time.

"I came to realise how important you are to me. Not just as my team mate and not just as my friend, but so much more. I realised that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me and just the thought of being without you, was a concept I couldn't even contemplate. And then, after spending the night apart, when I couldn't stand it anymore and I crept into bed with you, you turned to me. You were asleep, but it was like you sensed me and rolled right over and snuggled into me. And then, when I kissed your forehead, you smiled, _still_ asleep. I just lay there watching you sleep and I… just knew. I knew that there was nowhere else in the world that I wanted to be, other than right there by your side."

Adam's words instantly sobered her. Jaz couldn't speak, and the tears welling in her eyes were threatening to fall. No one, _no one_ had ever said anything so meaningful and heartfelt to her—in her whole life. This man just continued to surprise her.

Xander had encouraged her to ask the questions she still had of Adam; to communicate with him. And while she knew she'd think of a million others soon enough, she recognised that she had to give a little too. She had to be honest.

Clearing her throat, and blinking away the moisture in her eyes she began in a low voice, "Xander asked me several sessions ago, why the picture of you with a bullet wound to the head made me break; why it was the one thing that made me respond to Arthur. And—I haven't been able to answer him. Just like I didn't know how to respond to you when you told me how you feel about me. I just don't know how to put it into words."

Jaz paused to think about her next words and noticing Adam listening intently to her and holding on tight to the hand he still held in his, she decided to continue.

"I'm sure it's no surprise to you that I have a few trust issues, but I'm also absolutely terrified of losing anyone else in my life that I care about." She looked up into his eyes, "I'm afraid of losing _you_."

"Jaz…"

"No, it's ok, let me continue. This team is the first family I have ever felt a part of. My own family were… well let's just say, it never felt like what I assumed a family was supposed to feel like. It was never like it is with you guys. And my Dad… I can't even think of a word strong enough to describe him. But after Tehran, after you guys came for me, that's when I realised I _do_ have a family that care about me. I _do_ have a family that feels like what I assumed a family was supposed to feel like. And then I got scared that I could lose you all. I guess it's been overwhelming and intimidating to sort through these feelings, and now with the way I feel about you—I'm just confused and I feel terrible about that."

Nothing that Jaz said surprised Adam, he was just relieved that she was talking to him about this, especially since he knew how difficult it was for her. It wasn't easy for him either.

"Like I said to you yesterday, Jaz, I'm not going anywhere. I know that us being together has its challenges; some a lot greater than others. And we'll deal with those as best we can. But us just talking like this, being honest with each other, that's what is going to make this work."

"Xander told me that communication can be the bridge between confusion and clarity." Jaz added.

"He said something very similar to me. Definitely sounds like Xander."

"And Preach."

They both chuckled, feeling somewhat better having this conversation.

"Look," Adam started again, taking her other hand, so that he held both in his own hands, "I don't want you to feel overwhelmed or confused or terrible. I just want you to know that what I said to you last night, about how I feel—it's absolutely the truth. And all I need to know in return is that you want to be with me too."

"That's the one thing I know for sure. That's not even a question." Jaz replied immediately, looking deep into his beautiful blue eyes to reassure him.

"Well I hope that's still true after I tell you one last thing," Adam hesitated, remembering a piece of information he knew he had to pass on to Jaz.

Jaz frowned, wondering what it was. She raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to continue.

Adam pulled a hand back to run it through his beard, slightly concerned at how Jaz might react to this next part.

"Ok, in the spirit of honesty and full disclosure, I umm—I need to tell you that Xander knows… about us."

Jaz's beautiful olive complexion paled, "What?"

"Yeah," Adam spoke out of the side of his mouth, "apparently he figured it out."

Jaz thought about her recent conversations with Xander. From him asking her why the picture of Top in Tehran made her break, to the rooftop conversation where she struggled with Adam's admission of his feelings, to just yesterday when he had encouraged her to communicate as openly as she could. All this time he had known it was Dalton—her _Commanding Officer_.

Fuck.

"But—what about…"

Adam could see she was struggling to comprehend the situation, and he knew exactly how she felt. He had been fairly accepting of Xander being clued in to the situation, especially given the reassurance from Xander that the information wouldn't be passed along. While it was still a tough situation, he had no option but to make peace with it. Xander knew. That was the bottom line.

He did his best to explain that to Jaz and relay the conversation he had had with Xander. Whilst he didn't go into detail as to what had been discussed in his sessions, he made it clear that Xander had come to his own conclusions.

He had no doubt that Jaz would discuss this with Xander in her appointment tomorrow, but he had wanted to be honest with her, just like Xander had suggested. Jaz deserved that. They were equal partners in this relationship and while they both knew that this wasn't going to be an easy ride and couldn't predict what was to come, this was something that they did have control over, and he wanted to share that with her.

When he had finished explaining the situation with Xander he surmised, "Let's just take it one day at a time. I wanted you to know how I feel. And I wanted to share with you about Xander. I want to share everything with you. I'm not going anywhere and there is no pressure on you whatsoever, Jaz. I just want to be with you. You make me happy."

Jaz was understandably still a little astounded at the information. It was hard not to be. Her relationship with Adam was a risk. They both knew that. But it was a risk they were both willing to take. Being together just felt so right, and it outweighed the feelings of trepidation of what the future may hold.

For now, she was going to have to make peace with this, because being with Adam Dalton, was the happiest she had ever been in her life.

* * *

 **Well, what did you think?**

 **They don't have much time left in DC, so I hope you've been enjoying their adventures there. As always, thank you so much for continuing to read this story, I appreciate every single one of you.**

 **Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think, they really motivate me.**

 **Much love to you all, and for any Mums out there, Happy Mother's Day weekend XXX**


	40. Chapter 40

**It's been a while since I uploaded another chapter within a week, so I'm a little bit proud of myself for being able to do that this week. Also, another silly season is approaching for work in the next month, so I thought I would upload this quickly to butter you all up a bit :) Hope it works.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 40**

After an early breakfast, Dalton, Jaz and Amir gathered around McG on the sidewalk in front of the hotel, while he waited for his cab to the airport.

Special Operations Group 7 were once again starting to go their separate ways whilst back on home turf.

"Don't miss me too much." McG smiled at them all as the cab pulled up to the curb.

They all rolled their eyes before stepping up to say goodbye.

"Look after Hannah. Less quality rest, more sexy times." He teased Amir as they shook hands and embraced.

"Don't use that as a pick up line in Montana." Amir threw back at him.

Turning to Dalton he said dryly, "Good luck with Jaz, Top. You're gonna need it."

"Good luck with the punch that she's about to give you for that," Adam laughed before saying seriously, "Thanks for these two weeks' buddy, I really appreciate it."

"Anything for my favourite CO."

Turning towards Jaz, he pre-empted her fist to his solar plexus and instead grabbed her wrist, held it to his chest and pulled her towards him for a hug, while she giggled.

Whispering into her ear, he turned serious, "I'm proud of you, Jazzy."

"Thank you for everything." She whispered back. She will never be able to thank McG enough for pushing her to seek help for these two weeks, so instead she hugged him tighter, knowing that the message would get across. She felt him squeeze her back and was flooded with feelings of affection for her honourary big brother.

"Be happy. Enjoy every minute, yeah?"

"Will do." She smiled at him as they stepped back from their hug.

Climbing into the cab, he addressed them one last time, "See y'all in Montana soon, losers."

The other three just rolled their eyes at him, _again_. But there was no question, they would miss him.

* * *

"You know."

Xander inclined his head, not wanting to assume what Jaz was alluding to in their appointment later that morning.

"About me and Top… Me and _Adam_." She clarified in her husky voice.

Not wanting Jaz to become defensive, he quickly tried to allay her fears in his calm manner.

"I do. But I came to my own conclusions. Adam didn't tell me. And I didn't tell him I knew either, he came to that conclusion himself. Also, I'll tell you the same thing I told Adam. My job is to determine whether you are fit to do your job; whether you're in the right head space to do your job. I told you at the beginning of these sessions that these are confidential and I will only pass on information if I deem that you are in danger to yourself or others, or if I have any major concerns about your welfare."

Seeing the quizzical look that Jaz directed to him, he continued, "I don't have any of those concerns."

He watched Jaz lower her gaze and process her thoughts before looking him right in the eyes, "Well at least I know you're trustworthy."

"How's that?"

"I won't pretend that I wasn't concerned when Adam told me you knew. But I realised that we've had sessions together since that and you have given me no inclination whatsoever that you knew. I appreciate that."

"Well I wouldn't have my job if I didn't keep things confidential."

"I know—it's just, I don't trust many people, that list is pretty short, but I trust you."

"I appreciate that, Jaz. And I don't want to lose that." Xander acknowledged smiling at her. Who would have thought that the angry young woman he had first met in Incirlik as she beat the crap out of a punching bag and gave him some first class attitude, would be at this stage. He was proud of her.

"So," Xander continued, "This is our last session for the scheduled two week block that we first planned. There's only one topic still on the list you made in our first session."

"My father." She confirmed. "Let's do this…"

Xander put up a hand to stop her, "Actually Jaz, I think we should hold off on this one." Seeing her frown, not understanding, he continued, "This has been a big two weeks for you. You've really opened up and as a result you've had a lot to process; a lot to work through. A lot of that isn't just going to be solved overnight. It's a continual process and now you've started this journey we don't want to overload it. It would be unrealistic to be able to deal with everything you want to, in two weeks. "

"Ok, so what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you have shown real progress these last two weeks, Jaz. And wanting to talk about your father further demonstrates that. _But_ , I would hazard a guess that this topic needs more than one session, and I think it would be an injustice to open this can when you are still working through everything else. You have a few tools to work with after these two weeks. Keep exploring yourself and your feelings, and by all means think about the topic of your father too. I just don't think we should overload you right now."

Jaz was quiet, just processing what Xander was saying. She knew instantly that he was right though. It _had_ been a big two weeks. Emotional, painful, but therapeutic. She knew even with the strategies that Xander had given her to help deal with some of it, she needed time to really put them in place.

"I agree with you." Jaz admitted.

Xander chuckled, "Who would have thought, right?"

Jaz laughed along with him, "Certainly not me."

"One thing I do want you to continue working on Jaz, is trying to answer that question you've been struggling with. Continue to seek out that answer. I know you've been battling with it, and it's causing you some anxiety. I don't want it to stress you out, but I do think that an answer would clear a lot up for you."

 _Why did it make you break?_

That questioned still weighed on her constantly. Still not knowing why the picture of her CO with a bullet wound to the head had made her break, frustrated the hell out of her.

"Yeah, I will." She confirmed.

They spent the rest of the appointment going over some of the topics they had covered for the last couple of weeks. It was cathartic for Jaz to be able to see how far she had come in just this short time. She was under no illusion that she was 'cured' so to speak. Realistically she knew that some of this would stay with her forever. But she was certainly thankful for having the opportunity to talk it out and knowing that she had resources available to her when she needed them.

As they finished up, Xander reminded her, "Remember, even though these sessions are done for now, I am only a phone call away. And after some time, when you think you're ready, we can tackle the topic of your father. Who knows, you might have started to deal with that by then anyway. You have some great people in your life, Jaz. You've realised that yourself. Don't be afraid to open up to them. They are in your life for a reason."

Once again, she knew he was right.

"Lastly, try to remember two things for me. One, there is always a reason people come into your life, you either need them to change yours, or you're the one that will change theirs. And two, some of the best moments in life are the ones you can't tell anyone about." He paused for a moment looking at her knowingly, "Those have always rung true with me and this job that we do. That _you_ do. It's ok to feel happiness, Jaz. It's ok to _let_ yourself be happy."

Jaz nodded, and let a smile wash over her face. She had a whole new appreciation not just for the job that she did, but for the job that Xander did too.

"Thank you for everything, Xander." Jaz said solemnly as she stood up to say goodbye.

"Take care out there, soldier. And don't be a stranger."

Jaz flashed him another smile as she left his room. She felt somewhat lighter than she did when she had walked into this office two weeks ago. She was proud of her progress, even though she knew she still had a way to go.

* * *

Xander's session with Dalton that afternoon went much the same. Dalton had been ready to start discussing his family background, when Xander had stopped him and told him pretty much the same thing he had told Jaz.

Much like Jaz, Dalton was accepting of Xander's advice; it made a lot of sense. It certainly had been a full on couple of weeks dealing not only with his demons, but his revelation of his feelings towards Jaz too. A bit of a reprieve would actually be welcomed.

"I told Jaz that you are aware of our situation." Dalton mentioned to Xander.

"We talked about it this morning actually."

"Good."

"How are you feeling about… your feelings?" Xander asked tentatively.

Dalton huffed out a laugh, "I'm actually feeling good about it. It has been a hell of an eye opener, and I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. But it feels good to feel this way."

Xander watched a smile work its way across Dalton's whole face and was genuinely happy for him. He'd known Dalton for a while now; they had walked and talked their way through many situations and circumstances together, and his respect for this Captain and the job he did was second to none. He deserved this; he deserved this happiness.

"Well, my advice? Keep feeling that way. Explore it further and enjoy it. Yes, your situation is complicated, but I'll tell you the same two things that I told Jaz. One, there is always a reason people come into your life, you either need them to change yours, or you're the one that will change theirs. And two, some of the best moments in life are the ones you can't tell anyone about. Interpret that how you will and given your situation that last one is probably more poignant than ever. But you and Jaz complement each other. Don't be afraid to feel whatever you're feeling. Feelings are rarely wrong."

Dalton just nodded in acknowledgment, letting Xander's words wash over him.

As their session came to an end, Xander stood up and walked around to shake Dalton's hand. "You know where to find me if you need me anyway, and I have no doubt we'll be in touch soon enough."

"Thanks for these two weeks, Xander. I feel like I say that to you a lot."

"Take care, Adam. Live a little; enjoy yourself and your down time."

Dalton smiled at the thinly veiled subtext. He had every intention of making the most of the rest of his time off. Of _their_ time off.

* * *

After leaving Xander's office, Dalton made his way to the Deputy Director's to see if she was available.

Seeing her at her desk, he knocked on the door and walked in when she signalled him.

"Deputy Director." He greeted her.

"Adam, good to see you"

"Likewise."

"What brings you by here?"

"I've just finished up my last session with Xander Martin. Thought I'd stop by before I head back to the mountains."

Patricia smiled at him, "I appreciate that. Are you happy with the way things went with Xander? You certainly look like there's a weight off your shoulders."

"Yeah, he certainly knows what he's doing."

"I'm glad. Well I'll be in touch of course. There will be plenty to discuss before you redeploy. Hopefully that's still some time away for all involved though."

"We'll be ready whenever we're needed." Dalton confirmed, ever the soldier.

Patricia nodded to him and looked him straight in the eye, "Enjoy your time, Adam. I hope you all enjoy your time while you can."

Although Dalton maintained eye contact, he wanted to tear his eyes away. He felt like there was more to that sentence than just well wishes. He knew Patricia well enough to know she was a master at tone and inflection, and the look in her eyes was telling him there were many layers beneath her words.

"Thanks," was all Dalton replied before backing out of her office with his hand raised in a wave.

Patricia stood, and watched him close the door behind himself and walk down the corridor through the glass panels in her office wall. She watched until he was out of view before sighing and sitting back down, trying to once again concentrate on the paperwork in front of her.

* * *

Dalton headed to the rooftop pool to burn off some energy when he got back to the hotel.

He wasn't at all surprised to find Jaz churning through some laps of her own, and he quickly dove into the pool to catch up to her.

When Jaz noticed someone pull up alongside of her, she immediately recognised who it was and instantly lifted her pace to see if he could keep up with her.

Half an hour later they both surfaced at the shallow end, Jaz just in front of Adam, both breathing heavily after their workout.

"Can't keep up, old man?"

"You just have more aerodynamics." Adam reasoned, running his hand through his beard, wondering if it was time to trim it.

Changing the topic, Adam revealed, "So, I had my last session with Xander today."

"Me too, coincidentally." Jaz smirked.

"Huh. Well how about that. Feel like getting out of here?"

"The pool?" She asked.

"Well yes, but I was thinking more like getting out of DC? We could book flights for tomorrow, or hire a car and drive back."

A small blush spread across Jaz's cheeks at the anticipation of actually being alone with Adam again. Just the two of them, with no need to hide away. It sounded amazing.

"Let's hire a car, I've always loved a good road trip."

"Done. I'll organise it."

"I can't wait to go fishing again." Jaz admitted, making Dalton laugh. She joined in, both of them still in a little disbelief that Jaz had taken to fishing so much.

Watching the excitement and happiness on Jaz's face made him so happy too, and so excited to spend more time with her.

"You know what I can't wait for?" He asked with a gleam in his eyes.

"What's that?"

Taking a small step closer to her, he answered in a low deep voice, "I can't wait to go to the waterfall with you. And I can't wait to see you in my favourite bikini. I've missed it."

The heat in his eyes, sparked heat between her legs. The way he was looking at her set her body on fire, and she wished they were somewhere private. Somewhere where they could look at each other however they wanted to, or touch each other in public, or just _be_ together in public.

Instead, they both turned back to the pool and pushed off to get in a few more laps to burn off their energy.

Getting back to the mountains couldn't come fast enough.

* * *

Dalton and Jaz had text Amir to let him know their plans for the next day. He was very understanding and supportive of their plan; he knew how eager they were to be alone and he couldn't blame them. They had been on tenterhooks here in DC for two weeks, and they deserved some time to themselves.

As a result, the three of them had dinner together that night at a restaurant not too far from the hotel.

Aside from missing McG, they had a lovely evening together, appreciating each other's company and friendship.

Jaz sometimes still felt badly for the way she had treated Amir when he was new to the team. Even though they had got past that, and even though they were now firm friends, the last two weeks has helped her see even more clearly the error in her ways.

So much so, that when Dalton excused himself to go to the bathroom, Jaz cleared her throat and started to speak.

"Hey, I uh, just wanted to apologise for the way I treated you when you first joined the team. I know we're past that, but I've been thinking about… _a lot_ lately, and I know I never actually apologised. I'm sorry."

"Is that the alcohol or the therapy talking?" Amir teased.

Chuckling softly, Jaz just muttered, "Ok, I deserved that."

"You're right, Jaz, we're past all of that. I understood where it was coming from, and I'm glad we're where we are now. Good job I taught you how to cook a little too, huh? Since you'll be spending the rest of your leave with Top?"

"Who says I have to do any cooking?" She teased right back, "And who says I'm spending the _rest_ of my leave with Top?"

Amir just raised his eyebrows at her, "Please, you two are about to self-combust. You need some time alone. Enjoy it. Enjoy each other. Love each other." He added that last part with a wink, and watched as Jaz's face took on a look of surprise.

"I don't know if I'm the lovable kind. Certainly never seemed so." Jaz surprised Amir that she was opening up to him a little. He knew this was big for her, so he didn't want to brush it off.

"From what I know, you have quite a few people who love you. This entire team for one. Top in a completely different way too."

"How come everyone picked up on this, but me?" Jaz asked, slightly flustered.

"I think you've pigeonholed yourself as someone who is not worthy of love. And from the very small snippets you've told me, I understand that your family situation was… difficult. But someone's inability to love you, is not a reflection of your ability to be loved."

Jaz just stared at Amir. How could someone who she initially didn't even want to acknowledge, now be someone who could read her so easily. He had just hit the nail on the head. She hadn't even gotten that far with Xander.

While she stared at him, not quite sure how to respond, Dalton came back to the table.

"What did I miss?" He asked.

"Just asking Jaz who she's going to give shit to now that I won't be around." Amir answered without pause, smiling subtly at Jaz and seeing the thanks in her eyes.

"Oh well, that'll be me no doubt." Dalton sighed.

"You betcha." Jaz confirmed.

The rest of their dinner was spent chatting, laughing, exchanging plans on how they intended to spend the rest of their leave and tossing around dates to visit McG in Montana.

Amir had thought it best not to invite Hannah to this dinner. He didn't want it to look like a double date. While he wasn't finding it difficult to keep this from Hannah, given that she had no idea and therefore it wasn't a topic of conversation, he still wanted to avoid being in that situation where possible. Who knows what would happen down the track, but for now, he wanted Dalton and Jaz to just have the chance to be happy. For as long as they could.

They parted ways back at the hotel, but would see each other again at breakfast before Dalton and Jaz left for the Blue Ridge Mountains.

* * *

Entering their separate rooms that night, before once again meeting again in Jaz's room, made them both laugh.

"I'm not going to miss having to pretend we're in separate rooms when we leave here." Jaz said dryly.

"I don't know, it's been kind of fun, don't you think?"

"Fun? There goes Adam Dalton throwing that word around again. Who are you?" She teased.

"Well I have a lot of fun planned for us, so I hope you can keep up."

Jaz looked up seductively at him, through her long eye lashes and took a step closer, "What kind of fun?"

"Fishing, swimming, camping… you know, all the stuff that a mountain man does." He replied, feigning innocence.

"Anything else?"

"Well, I've got some repairs to do on the cabin, so your help will be greatly appreciated there."

Jaz took another step closer, "Anything else?"

"Of course I'll need to do some exploring and keep my fitness up."

"How do you intend on doing that?" Jaz whispered, her lips now nearly touching his, so her words brushed against his lips.

Grabbing her around the waist and walking her backwards until her knees hit the bed, he whispered right back to her, "I can think of many, _many_ ways."

He moved even closer and kissed her hungrily.

They had made it. They had made it through these two weeks.

It had been emotional and turbulent. It had been eye opening and ground breaking. They had needed it. Both of them. Desperately. But now it was time to be together. In every sense of the word. To share their day-to-day lives together and see what the future had in store for them.

As Dalton guided Jaz onto the bed, still kissing each other deeply, they both couldn't wait for this next chapter. They couldn't wait to be together and they couldn't wait to just get lost in each other.

* * *

 **They did it! They made it through a tough two weeks and it's back to the mountains in the next chapter.**

 **Originally I had Jaz and Adam's family situations penciled in for these sessions with Xander. But after some thought I decided that that would have been wayyyy too much to deal with along with everything else they had been processing in just two weeks. It's not realistic. So I've decided to hold off on those sessions... for now.**

 **Thanks as always to you beautiful people who continue to read this story, and for the angels who comment - much love to you. You all keep me motivated to keep writing this story.**

 **Thank you XXX**


	41. Chapter 41

**Happy Friday Everyone! I don't usually post on a Friday, but I had a pretty crappy day at work so I edited this chapter to take my mind off things and once I was done, I figured I may as well just post it ASAP! As always you might need to re-read the previous chapter as a refresher.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 41**

On their last day in Washington DC, Dalton and Jaz had breakfast with Amir a bit earlier than usual. To say they were keen to start their road trip back to Dalton's cabin was an understatement. Amir picked up on that excitement and didn't dwell over breakfast.

He had his own small piece of excitement to look forward to. As of today he was moving in with Hannah for the remainder of their leave and much like Dalton and Jaz, he wanted to make the most of it.

Following breakfast, Amir had borrowed Hannah's car to drop off Dalton and Jaz at the car rental place that Dalton had organised.

Unloading their luggage while Dalton took care of the paperwork, Jaz couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

"Someone's smug." Amir observed.

"Oh, like you aren't feeling so smug yourself?" Jaz accused.

"Ok, guilty."

So both of them stood there and smiled at each other—smugly, both enormously happy with their personal lives at the moment.

"Don't fuck it up with Hannah, we need her watching our asses in a few months' time." Jaz warned him.

"Well I could say the same to you about Top…"

"But you won't." Jaz finished for him.

"Exactly." And they both laughed.

Although super happy to be spending time with Dalton alone, Jaz still had some things weighing on her.

There was still that elusive question that Xander had asked her, which she just couldn't seem to find the answer to.

 _Why did it make you break?_

In that last session, Xander had pushed her to still seek an answer and she was determined to do just that. She knew she wouldn't stop thinking about it until it was resolved. Maybe being with Dalton—just the two of them alone—would help her find what she was looking for. She certainly hoped so, she didn't want this hanging over her for much longer, it grated on her.

There was still also the matter of their sleeping arrangements. While she would spend every single night by Adam's side if she could, she knew that they had to spend some nights apart to keep up the strategies Xander had given to them both on how to work through their nightmares. They had spent a few nights apart here in DC, but those few nights weren't going to solve all their problems.

She still felt very much like a work in progress, but at the same time she was proud of herself for being able to cope with the last two weeks. It had challenged her and it had been an emotional rollercoaster, but Xander had been amazing and she couldn't have asked for a better group of people around her to help her through it.

And then there was Adam. Her journey with him over the last month had been one hell of a ride.

From starting as team mates to exploring their growing feelings for each other.

From finally being intimate with each other at the cabin, to Jaz fleeing to Elijah's parents place early, with no goodbye to Adam.

From Jaz deciding to forego the long weekend at Preach's house to Adam arriving at Elijah's parents unexpectedly to tell her that he wanted to be with her.

From telling the rest of the team about their new situation to having to again stay under wraps in DC.

From the difficult conversations in their appointments with Xander, to the elation of discovering they had adjoining rooms at the hotel.

And from the confusion of first hearing Adam's professed feelings to her, to the comfort and contentment of _accepting_ and embracing his feelings towards her.

They had been through the wringer. So the urge to spend quality time, even mundane time together, had an enormous appeal.

Shaking her from her reverie, Dalton exited the car rental office with the keys in hand, ready to go.

They knew this wouldn't be the last they would see of Amir during this leave since the plan was still to rendezvous in Montana at some stage, so the goodbye wasn't too long or drawn out.

With a big hug for Jaz and a handshake and hug for Dalton, Amir left them with a simple, "Have fun you two," before waving them off. He was heading straight to Hannah's to unload his own luggage there, and he couldn't wait.

* * *

Pulling away and finally getting on their way, Jaz and Dalton sat in silence for a while. This feeling was magical. Knowing that they had the next—however long—to be together, _alone_ , was incredible. They had been so careful in DC with their actions, their looks and their body language, that hiding away almost felt normal.

While neither of them had any idea what the future held, they were both excited at the freedom that the Blue Ridge Mountains offered.

Knowing that they were thinking the exact same thing, Adam reached his right hand over to Jaz and clasped her own in his. When she squeezed his hand in response he looked over at her and just smiled. That smile of his that went all the way up to the crinkles beside his eyes and she beamed back at him.

She felt giddy. And that was a new feeling in itself for her, never mind the notion that she was actually about to spend a few months living with someone— _living with_ _someone_. She felt like a completely different person to who she was just a couple of months ago. So much had happened and changed in such a short period of time and she certainly wasn't complaining about it.

They continued to just soak up the moment, not exchanging many words as Adam traversed the DC traffic. Once they were out of the city, Jaz snapped a quick picture out of the front windscreen and sent it to the SOG7 WhatsApp group.

In no time at all, the responses flooded in.

 _ **Safe travels you two**_ – Preach

 _ **Hope you've got some snacks for the trip**_ – McG

 _ **Keep us updated**_ – Amir

 _ **Amir, you at Hannah's now?**_ – McG

 _ **Just unpacking my belongings**_ – Amir

 _ **At least you won't take up much wardrobe space with your short man clothes**_ – McG

 _ **At least I don't have my Mom unpack for me**_ – Amir

Jaz giggled along with the conversation, filling Adam in since he was driving. He just shook his head at the antics of his team.

 _ **Jaz & Top – let us know when you're there. Amir – enjoy every moment with Hannah. McG – look after your Mom. You all enjoy spending time with your loved ones. Make every moment matter; make every moment count**_ – Preach.

 _ **Will do**_ – Jaz

 _ **You too Preach**_ – Amir

 _ **Boom! Spiritual jujitsu! You've been missed big guy –**_ McG

Smiling in appreciation of these guys, _her guys_ , Jaz put her phone away, looked over at Adam and asked, "Are we there yet?"

Adam looked at her sideways, "Oh geez, you're not one of those people are you?"

"Maybe. Guess you're about to find out."

"I can't wait." He looked over at her with a glint in his eyes.

And just like that, Jaz was blushing again. She seemed to spend a lot of time doing that around this man. She couldn't remember anything or anyone else ever having this effect on her. But with three short words, she was like a tomato.

* * *

They stopped for some lunch at a road side café along the way and they got caught up playing with a dog that reminded them greatly of Patton. The family he was with asked if they had a dog, given their easy manner and nature with the dog.

"I miss Patton," Jaz mused, after they were back in the car and on their way.

He nodded in response, "Me too."

"Did you ever have any pet's growing up?"

"Not of my own, but I took care of my Uncle's dog and a shitload of sheep every summer."

Jaz looked at him questioningly, "Sheep?"

"Yeah, I spent every summer working at my Uncle's farm in Podunk, Pennsylvania. I loved it."

"Right, I remember now." Jaz recalled the story of how his knowledge of sheep noises was the catalyst that ultimately lead to Jaz's rescue in Tehran.

"What about you, any pets?"

"I had a goldfish once. I won it at a school fair. Target practice."

Adam nodded in response, not even surprised.

"What did you name it?"

"I only had it for a few hours, didn't get a chance to name it. My Dad came home from work and said he didn't work all day and night to provide food for a fish. He flushed it down the toilet before I could even show him that I already had enough fish food to last for six months."

Adam just listened with a clenched jaw. This wasn't the first time he had heard a small snippet about Jaz's Dad that made him feel this way. She had never offered too much information. He knew more about it than the rest of the team, because some of it was in her file, but he hoped she might open up to him some more over the next few weeks. He also knew that some of it would be hard to hear.

"Did you get a chance to talk to Xander about… your family at all?" Dalton asked quietly.

"About my Dad you mean? Not very much. He suggested we leave that until next time. He was probably right. That would have been way too much on top of everything else."

"He actually said a very similar thing about my own Dad."

Jaz huffed a laugh, "This is like fucked up families anonymous, huh?"

Smiling wryly, he agreed with her. His home certainly hadn't been ideal. And he knew that when Jaz, or _if_ Jaz ever opened up about hers, it wasn't going to be pretty.

Jaz stared out the window, lost in thought. Her home life wasn't something that she had ever really discussed with anyone. She knew that some higher ups and Adam knew a little more than most, but that had still only been what Jaz had revealed, which wasn't a lot. She had enough stories to last months. For the most part she kept them buried deep within, but the last couple of weeks had made her see that she needed to talk about some of them and she needed to deal with some of them. She just wasn't sure what the best way to do that was yet.

One thought always lingered in her mind and she wanted to share it with Adam.

"You know; I often wonder what I would do if I bumped into my Dad. Just on the street in New York. Or even more, what _he_ would do?"

"Does he know you're military?"

"As far as I know he does. But that's _if_ I ever go back to New York anyway. I'm certainly in no rush."

Dalton understood that. It was the whole reason she had turned up at his cabin in the first place, less than two weeks into their leave. And although it pained him to think of why her memories of New York were so terrible, it had been the catalyst to where they are now.

"Well, if we ever end up going, and if we ever see him, we'll tackle it from whatever angle you like."

Jaz looked at him, not sure she had heard him correctly.

" _We_?" She questioned him quietly.

He kept his eyes on the road when he answered but shrugged as if it was the simplest answer in the world, "Yeah. No way you're going without me."

Jaz kept her eyes on him as she felt her pulse quicken. It felt like a kaleidoscope of butterflies sweeping their way throughout her entire body, attacking all of her senses, and sparking an outpouring of awareness.

And it was at that very moment that her heart nearly jumped out of her chest and—she knew.

 _She knew._

Watching his handsome face; his strong forearms resting on the steering wheel, his dark blonde hair glistening in the sunlight and the twinkling of his blue eyes—she knew.

That was it—her moment of clarity.

She blinked her eyes away to look out the passenger side window as she tried to process the emotions running through her.

Every heightened emotion that she had experienced these last few weeks—suddenly made sense.

All the unexplained feelings and thoughts that she had experienced—suddenly made sense.

The feeling that she was the happiest she had ever been—suddenly made sense.

The fear of losing Adam or being without him—suddenly made sense.

 _Everything—_ suddenly made sense.

And finally, Xander's question that had plagued her for days—suddenly made sense. She can't believe she hadn't realised it sooner.

 _Why did it make you break?_

Because she was in love with him.

She was completely and deeply in love with Adam Dalton.

It was like a gigantic weight had been lifted from her shoulders, like it was suddenly so much easier to breathe and she couldn't help but start laughing softly to herself.

Looking over at her, hearing her laugh, he asked her, "What's funny?"

"Pull over." She said to him.

"Huh? Why?" He looked at her quickly in confusion.

"Please… just pull over."

Having no idea why, but knowing there was clearly a reason behind it, Adam eased the car off the highway, pulled into a truck stop and turned to look at her expectantly.

Jaz took one look at him and got out of the car, knowing he would do the same. Before she knew it he had walked around to the passenger side to stand next to her as she looked off into the distance. She just stood breathing in the fresh air, taking big gulps to try and gather her thoughts.

"Jaz, what's going on?"

When she didn't answer him, he reached for her elbow to turn her towards him.

"Hey, talk to me."

Those very words of his; the words that she had heard more than once, had her locking eyes with him. The concern in his voice and the worry on his face, were all reflected there in those beautiful blue eyes and the need to reassure him that nothing was wrong was so strong.

She held his gaze and with a small shrug of her shoulders and with a wobbly voice she managed to whisper, "I'm in love with you."

The look of surprise that crossed his face had him open his mouth as if to respond, but then quickly close it, not quite sure what to say. Staring back into her eyes, he saw that they looked scared, nervous, but sure at the same time.

"Wha—what?" He eventually managed to stutter out.

"I'm in love with you, Adam." She managed to say with more conviction.

This time he managed to speak, "Jaz, you don't have to say it just because…"

Before he could finish, Jaz stepped closer to him, lay her hands on his chest and kissed him to stop whatever he had been about to say. She kissed him to convince him that she meant it and she kissed him because it was easier than trying to explain herself at the moment.

She felt Adam's hands come up to cup her cheeks and she wound her arms around him, pulling him close. The need to be as close to him as possible was as strong as ever.

Pulling away from each other slightly, they locked gazes. Adam's ocean blue eyes searching her wide chocolate orbs, hers desperately trying to convey what she was feeling.

Jaz wished she had more control over her motor skills right then. Her body was trembling with this sudden onslaught of awareness, and her skin was covered in goose bumps. She had never felt so unhinged, and yet so sure about anything in her entire life and despite her quivering frame, she stared right back into his eyes, hoping that he could see that sentiment mirrored in them.

Adam could see nothing but the truth in her eyes, and he ran his thumbs over her cheeks in an effort to soothe the plethora of emotion he knew was running through her body. Running through _both_ their bodies.

Looking down into her eyes as he softly caressed her face, he began to smile at her. In awe. In amazement. In appreciation.

In love.

Watching his face break into that gorgeous smile of his, she couldn't help but smile back. His smile was infectious. This feeling was infectious. _He_ was infectious.

Standing on her tiptoes to capture his lips with hers again, she poured every feeling going through her body into their union. They clutched each other as her arms moved higher to wind their way around his neck, and he cradled the back of her head with one hand while wrapping the other around her waist, holding her tightly against him.

Their lips moved with each other, desperately and urgently, and their need for closeness had Adam leaning against the car, pulling Jaz as near as he decently could.

Eventually having to come up for air, they rested their foreheads together, both gasping for breath and just breathing each other in.

When their breathing steadied, and their trembling along with it, Jaz managed to whisper, "I meant it." She didn't want to leave any doubt in Adam's mind.

Capturing her lips in a quick kiss, Adam managed to whisper back, "I know you did."

Jaz was so thankful that he believed her. She didn't think she had it in her at the moment to have to explain herself. And even though she knew she would later on, for now she was happy that he was accepting her declaration as true.

Knowing that this had been difficult for Jaz, he tried to lighten the moment slightly by lifting his head, looking around either side of them and joking, "I mean, this had to happen right here? In the middle of nowhere?"

Laughing softly, she stared up at him, "I'll try to pick a better spot next time."

"No, it was perfect," He smiled down at her, not caring at all where they were. They could have been in the middle of an Afghani prison riot or in a Mongolian kill box for all he cared. Just somewhere with a little more privacy would have been ideal. But they were soldiers. They were special forces. They knew that _ideal_ didn't come around very often.

"Come on, let's get out of here. I want to get to the cabin as quickly as possible."

Looking longingly into her eyes, he saw the fire lit in hers.

"Let's go," she said quickly, standing on her tiptoes to give him one last lingering kiss before they hit the road again.

* * *

Jaz sat in the passenger seat, lost in thought but feeling happier than she had felt in… well she couldn't even remember when. She had never felt this way before, and she knew that was probably why she had struggled to come to this conclusion.

She already knew that she liked him—a lot. She had already respected him—a lot. And she already knew that she cared about him—a lot. But this was… _everything_.

She knew that she couldn't imagine or fathom her life without him. Not just her CO. Not just her friend. Just _him_ , in every facet.

All of her confusion had disappeared. All the lingering questions about Xander's questioning of her and that elusive question had disappeared. But in their place was a whole slew of other questions.

How long had she felt like this? When did this actually happen? Did the others know?

Did Xander know? Probably.

Did Preach know? _Of course_ he knew.

She couldn't fight down the nerves, but she felt content at the same time. She finally knew why he had been a confidante over the years, despite sometimes butting heads. She finally knew why they worked so seamlessly together on missions. She finally knew why the sight of him hitting the ground suddenly in a kill box in Mongolia had scared the life out of her. She finally knew why the look they exchanged in the carpark in Tehran, when she was being driven away had hurt so much. And she now knew the answer to Xander's question. Finally.

 _Why did it make you break?_

Because she was in love with him.

She glanced across at this beautiful man, still in awe of her realisation, and wondered when he had managed to slip through her defences and break his way through her walls? When had he become the most important person in her life?

She hoped she would eventually be able to answer these questions, but for now, she was just happy that she had finally figured _this_ out.

* * *

For the rest of the trip back to the cabin, Adam alternated between holding her hand or resting his hand on her thigh. He needed to be close to her. He needed to touch her. And if not for him being a responsible and upstanding citizen, he would be doing a whole lot more with her in the car right now.

To say he had been surprised by Jaz's declaration was an understatement. He had hoped of course, that this day would come, but he hadn't been expecting it today—on their road trip.

He knew that the last two weeks had been tumultuous emotionally for Jaz. For both of them really. He hadn't wanted to make it any more difficult for her and he meant what he said when he told her he had no expectations.

Having said that, he was struggling to wipe the smile off his face; this was the best fucking feeling in the world.

He looked over at her, and when he saw her smiling too, he gripped her hand even harder. They needed to get out of this car ASAP.

* * *

When they finally arrived at the cabin and Adam parked the car, they both looked at each other, no words needing to be exchanged.

The glint in their eyes was identical and leaving everything in the car, they almost sprinted to the front door of the cabin.

Once inside, Adam wasted no time in pushing her up against the closed front door and leaning down to devour her lips with his. He kissed her like he had been waiting a lifetime to do so, tasting her sweet lips over and over again, hungrily and passionately.

Jaz kissed him back just as breathlessly, letting his tongue enter her mouth to caress her own and enjoying the feel of his body and its heat pressed up against hers.

Pulling back from each other, they both stripped away all of their clothing, the need to be joined together right now, so strong and so intense.

With their lips quickly re-joined, his hands slid down her body, cupping her ass and pulling her tightly against him. He was hard. So hard. Grasping her thigh, he pulled her leg up and around his hip pressing against her core, feeling the desire right through to both of their cores.

"Jaz, you feel so good," Adam groaned against her mouth.

"Don't stop," she moaned. "Please don't stop."

"Not a fucking chance."

Jaz's nipples were hard points and her skin burned, as if a candle flame was too close.

Adam's fingers strayed over her hip, down the curve of her ass and then between her legs, causing Jaz to gasp into his mouth as his fingers stroked back and forth over her heat.

Gripping his shoulders as tightly as she could, she didn't even flinch as he lifted her other leg, so she could wrap her legs around his waist. Her mouth crushed down on his with her heart pounding in her chest as she felt his cock glide along her seam.

She was dripping wet with desire and he looked her right in the eyes. His gaze was full of intent and his own desire, as he slipped easily between her folds in one smooth move and entered her fully.

Jaz moaned deeply in her throat as he flexed his hips and pushed in even deeper, holding her hard against the door. The grip on her ass as tight as ever.

They moved slowly at first, not taking their eyes off each other, but it didn't take long for Adam to move faster. His thrusts hard and sure, their mouths fusing back together as their breaths came out in pants and grunts.

Jaz held his jaw in her hands while she kissed him with all the passion and pain she had been holding in for so long. This was bliss. This was heaven.

His fingers dug deep into her ass and in response she tightened his legs around him, shifting her hips so that her clit rode against the base of his cock. Fire tore through her body, through her blood and bones, reaffirming her physical connection with him.

She had to tear her mouth from his as the pleasure spiralled out of control. He moved even faster, sensing how close they both were to reaching their intended destination.

He brought his lips up to her ear, sucked the lobe into his hot mouth, before whispering, "You're amazing, Jaz. So beautiful."

With those words she plunged over the edge, letting out a sharp cry as her body splintered apart with wave after wave of tingling pleasure.

Adam started to breath even harder and he pumped into her, his own pleasure reaching its hilt as he watched her face contort in ecstasy. He spilled inside of her with long, deep thrusts; his body curving around her still trembling softness. Their lips found each other again and together they rode out the last waves of passion.

Still breathless and still panting, they stayed in that position with their foreheads resting against each other's, trying to get their breathing under control.

With legs like jelly, Adam set her down and she slid her legs to the ground, their foreheads still in contact and their bodies still tingling from their incredible orgasms.

She slid her hands up to his neck and in a shaky but sure voice she whispered those words that had incited all of this.

"I love you, Adam."

Feeling the muscles of his face lift into a smile, she smiled herself when he responded, "I love you too, Jaz. So fucking much."

So this is what this felt like.

 _Making love_.

Nothing had ever felt better. Not in their whole lives.

They couldn't wait to do it all over again.

* * *

 **Well it only took her 41 chapters, but Jaz got there... FINALLY! Slowest burn ever right?!**

 **What did you think?**

 **I had juggled a few different ways for her to figure it all out and when it should happen, but this seemed kind of natural so I hope it reads ok. There's still lots more to come, so I hope you continue to enjoy it.**

 **Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for reading. And to those who also comment - much love as always! XXX**


	42. Chapter 42

**Thank you so much for the lovely comments on my last chapter - sorry I haven't gotten around to answering you all yet. Well here they are, back at the cabin. As always, I would recommend reading the last chapter again to refresh your memory. Happy Wednesday and I hope you enjoy!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 42**

Sunlight streaming through the cracks in the blinds woke Dalton up early the next morning. Even inside the cabin, he could smell the clean, fresh air that the Blue Ridge Mountains offered. While DC had been beautiful, nothing rivalled this mountain range and the peace and tranquillity that came with it.

He looked down at Jaz, curled up with her head resting on his shoulder, still fast asleep. Her long dark hair was splayed behind her on the pillow, with the aroma of her apple scented shampoo wafting into the air.

Running his hand down the arm that she had draped around his torso, he marvelled as he always did at the softness of her skin. This badass sniper who had countless methods of inflicting pain on the enemy, was so soft and supple when they were like this. And he loved it. He would hazard a guess that not many –if any—had seen this side of her and he hoped it stayed that way. He wanted to keep this side of her tucked away from anyone else. He wanted to keep it all to himself.

Despite this strong woman being every bit as capable as himself at taking care of herself—probably more so given her sniper abilities—he couldn't shake the need to want to protect her. He wished he could just wrap her up and keep her away from the rest of the world, away from anything that could hurt her. Jaz would scoff at him if he told her this to her face. She was comfortable in her abilities, more than comfortable, and she should be. She had saved the whole team's asses countless times, and yet this need to wrap her in cotton wool and keep her right by his side all the time was unshakeable.

This must be what love is. Huh. He still had a lot to learn about all of this stuff.

He debated whether to get up and put the coffee on, knowing how her need for coffee in the morning pretty much outweighed everything else. Or whether to just stay snuggled up with her, and enjoy the fact that they didn't need to scramble to exit the bedroom from different doorways, as they had done in DC to keep up the façade.

His decision was made for him when he noticed Jaz start to stir. She buried her head even further into his shoulder as the light tried to permeate her eyes and the cuteness of it all—again, something he would never tell her—had him pulling her in tighter against his side.

"Morning." He whispered to her huskily, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

"Mmm, morning," She whispered back, still trying to snuggle as close to him as possible, "How long have you been awake?"

"Not long. I've been debating whether to put the coffee on for you yet, I know you love nothing more in the morning."

Finally letting her face see the light of day, she looked up at him from where she still rested on his shoulder, and said in her huskier than usual voice, "There is one thing I love more."

Adam raised his eyebrows with a small smirk on his face, "Oh yeah? What's that?"

She didn't answer him; she didn't need to. Instead she just started placing soft kisses to his shoulder, gradually moving across his collar bone, to his neck, where she placed open mouthed kisses to that sweet spot, before finally arriving at her destination.

She pressed her full mouth to his, surprising him when her tongue slipped straight into his. She sought out his own tongue and massaged it with her own, their lips on fire upon each other.

"Good answer." He managed to breath against her lips, as he yanked her across his body, his hands moulding her soft skin so she lay on top of him.

She smiled lazily against his lips and ground her lower body against him at the same time. Hearing his low groan, she breathed into his mouth, "Thought you'd like it," as they lost themselves in each other. Their morning not being quite as early as they first thought.

* * *

A couple of hours later they were up and ready to drive into town to grab some supplies. Given that there was nothing other than sundries in the cabin, they needed to stock up and also return the rental car while they were there.

They drove in tandem and as soon as they had returned the car, they both climbed into Adam's truck to find a parking space for a couple of hours. He managed to park near a café that they intended to hit up for some much needed sustenance.

As they exited the truck and Adam joined Jaz on the sidewalk, he reached out for her hand and laced his fingers with hers like it was second nature. Like they had been doing this for years.

It was a new feeling; a new concept. The last time they had been at the cabin, they hadn't put a label on their relationship, it had no definition. They had still been feeling each other out and were unsure where this was going.

When they had been in DC, they had of course kept everything behind closed doors. So now, here in these mountains, it felt so novel and liberating to be able to just simply hold hands out in the open. Even though there was nothing simple about it.

It just seemed like it was a normal concept that every other couple would do. But they were far from every other couple.

With her small hand encased in his much larger hand, a shy smile spread across her face, and a tinge of pink, which seemed to happen around this man more often than she could count.

Looking back at her with a soft, knowing smile, and a squeeze of her hand, he led them to the café, feeling like this was a big step for them and never wanting to let her go.

After a large brunch to fulfill the hunger they had built up with their… physical activities, hitting up the supermarket was next on their agenda.

They took their time, perusing each aisle, touching each other whenever possible. Adam's hand often found its way to the small of her back, Jaz repeatedly placed her hand on his shoulder or his arm and they snuck in quick kisses whenever they could. Neither of them had ever had a shopping experience like it.

Even the actual shopping itself was new. Now they were shopping for _them_ , as a couple. This saw many sweet treats being added to the cart, planned dinners, alcohol and of course the much required toiletries. It was so domestic—and while the term _domestic bliss_ seemed cheesy and presumptuous, that's exactly what they were feeling at this point in time.

When the groceries were done and packed in the car, they were deciding what to do next. Dalton wanted to go to the hardware store to get a few supplies and Jaz decided to check out Target. They arranged to meet up in an hour.

Jaz had been wearing the same clothes for over a month, in fact they were pretty much the same clothes that she had had on deployment also. Other than a couple of items that she had bought here last time, including that bikini that Adam loved so much, she had basically been wearing the same clothes for 10 months. While she was quite modest, and that wasn't likely to change any time soon, she wanted to get a couple more items just to add to her repertoire. Nothing fancy, just new.

She selected a couple of new t-shirts and tank tops, some shorts and a couple of sun dresses. As she added a couple of other items to her basket, she came across the swimwear section. Adam loved the bikini she had bought so much last time. It made her giggle and blush remembering his reaction to it. She already had a couple of other swimsuits, but maybe one more wouldn't hurt.

Meeting back up with Adam in an hour had him rolling his eyes at her good naturedly.

"Bought half the store again?"

"So what if I did?"

Adam just shrugged, it didn't bother him at all, but he joked, "Might have to pay another visit to the hardware store to build you another room for your clothes."

"Very funny." She elbowed him in the side as they put her bags in the back of the truck.

Grabbing her elbow, he spun her around and his lips were on hers before she could protest. Caught by surprise, but not objecting, she wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back, melting into him—right there in the middle of the street. Another first for them.

Pulling away slowly, they could see the others happiness reflected in each other's eyes and the smiles didn't leave their faces.

"Need anything else?" Adam asked her, his arms still firmly around her waist.

"I think I'm good."

A particular store caught Adam's eye over her shoulder and he squinted in thought. Making a quick decision, he leaned down to give her another quick kiss before saying, "I just need to grab one more thing. I'll be quick, wait here?"

"Sure." Jaz climbed in the truck and scrolled through her phone as she waited.

About 20 minutes later, she heard him open up the back of the truck and turned around to see him placing a box in the back.

"Get what you needed?" She asked as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"Yep. Good to go?"

"Let's go."

They made the trip back to the cabin with their windows rolled down, letting the breeze blow through the truck. They didn't speak all that much; they just enjoyed the fresh air and each other's quiet company.

* * *

Upon arriving back at the cabin, they unloaded their many purchases and Adam took care to place the box from his last purchase on the kitchen bench.

They re-stocked the shelves and the fridge and then Jaz went and put her new purchases away. Her bags from DC still sat on the floor in Adam's bedroom. They had been too preoccupied with each other last night when they had arrived back at the cabin to put anything away.

It felt strange this time to be putting her clothes away in Adam's room, rather than in the guest room. But they were doing this, they were _really_ doing this. Being a couple. Living together. So even though it felt strange, it couldn't compete with the happiness she was also feeling.

After her new clothes, and toiletries were put away, she came across two of the other purchases she had made that day. Holding the two books in her hand, she went back out into the kitchen to find Adam.

"Here." She held out one of the books for him, keeping one for herself.

"What's this?" He asked her, turning the book over in his hands.

"It's a notebook, or journal. Xander advised us both to write down what keeps us awake, or what wakes us up, or what worries us, right? I thought I would get us a book that we could leave on the bed side table, or where ever you want really."

"Good idea."

"I know."

Smirking at her and then down at the book, he held it up to her, with raised eyebrows when he saw the slogan on the front of his, "Does not play well with others?"

"Perfect, right?" She shrugged.

"Couldn't be more perfect. Thank you." He laughed before he leaned down to kiss her quickly, glad that Jaz was serious about continuing their therapy. It was important to keep it up, they didn't want to undo any progress they had begun to make over the last two weeks.

Adam walked over to the kitchen bench to the box he had placed there. It was what he had purchased while Jaz waited in the car, and he was mildly worried about the reaction it would get. It could go two ways. He hoped it went the way he wanted.

Beckoning her over, he gestured to the box, "I got this for you."

"What is it?"

"Open it up." He said simply.

Jaz pulled back the lid of the box and inside she found a large glass bowl, and resting inside was a plastic bag filled with water and a bright orange gold fish swimming around in it.

She looked at him through her thick eyelashes, her eyes not showing any sign of emotion, "You got me a fish?"

Adam just nodded, not being able to get a read on Jaz's feelings.

As she pulled the bowl out of the box and placed it on the bench, a whole flood of emotion ran through her veins. All good ones. He had bought her a goldfish—to make up for the one her Dad had so ruthlessly gotten rid of. Fuck she loved this man.

She walked around the bench and he watched her approach through curious and slightly nervous eyes. She stepped right up to him and buried her face in his neck and wrapped her arms around his waist. His arms automatically wrapped around her to pull her closer. They stayed like that for a moment until she turned her head so it rested on his chest, gazing at the goldfish swimming around in the plastic bag.

"Thank you." She whispered to him, this present touching her more than he will ever know.

Resting his cheek on her head he whispered back, "You're welcome. You like it?"

"I love it." She affirmed, pulling back to look up at him, "I love you."

A slow smile spread across Adam's face and his heart pounded. He loved hearing those words.

"I love you too."

Standing on her tip toes she kissed him, hoping he knew how thankful she really was.

When they pulled away, Jaz went back to the box and pulled out a couple more things. A bag of purple pebbles for the bottom of the bowl, a container of food and a bag of what looked like rocks.

When she looked at him quizzically, he explained, "They're slow feeders. If we go away for a few days, you put it in the water and it provides food over a period of time."

"Smart. Are we going away?"

"I have every intention of taking you to a few different camping spots."

She just smiled at him, before holding up the bag of pebbles, "Purple?"

"I know it's your favourite colour."

"You do?"

"Jaz, it's been over three years, I've paid attention. Besides the journal that you just bought yourself is purple."

She couldn't help but laugh, "Guilty. But I want to hear some stories of what you paid attention to sometime."

"We'll see. Let's get this guy in his new home. Or hers." He added quickly.

They spent the next ten minutes setting up the fishbowl and acclimatising the goldfish to the water before finally releasing it to swim free. Jaz just watched it swim around and around with a look of absolute delight on her face.

"You look like a little kid."

"It's my first pet. My first real pet anyway. Oh god, what if I kill it?" She looked up from the bowl with a look of horror on her face.

Adam just tilted his head at her, "The good thing about goldfish are that they are easily replaceable."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Laughing, he asked, "What are you going to call it?"

She frowned in thought, as if she had never had a more serious task in front of her. She could put a bullet in a target's head from hundreds of metres away and yet naming the goldfish seemed so much more important. This was something personal to her, not just her job.

 _Something personal._

All of a sudden the right name came to her.

"Cassiopeia."

Dalton chuckled, "The vain queen?"

"If the shoe fits, right?"

His chuckle turned into a laugh, "Right. That's quite a mouthful for such a tiny fish."

"Hey, don't call my fish tiny." She defended, but Jaz took Adam's words on board, "But I suppose it can be Cass for short."

"Copy that."

Adam was so happy that the fish, that _Cassiopeia_ , had gone down well. It had been a split second decision when they were in town, and he really wanted to do something nice for her. The look of joy glowing from every pore on her face was all he needed.

Seeing a smile on Jaz Khan's face, was all he ever wanted to see.

* * *

When Adam finally managed to drag Jaz away from Cassiopeia, they decided to spend the afternoon fishing off the jetty in the lake just across from Adam's cabin.

They sat there in the warmth, legs swinging off the end of the jetty, fishing rods in hand, not saying all that much, just enjoying the quietness of their surroundings.

Jaz was still so happy about her new pet. She had received gifts before. The team usually exchanged small trinkets or funny items on birthdays and Christmases that fell during their deployment. It wasn't usually anything big, just whatever they could get their hands on in whatever country they could. In McG's case, it was generally tequila or condoms, which he was more than happy with.

She and Elijah had bought some funny gifts for each other, usually part of some inside joke and Dalton gave everyone the same present for every event, the day off PT. But this was the first time she had received a gift of any significance; of such thought. One that actually meant something to her.

It might seem silly to be so excited about a pet fish. And she even felt silly for being afraid of being able to keep it alive. But she had never had to care for anything before; something that was actually hers anyway.

She was nervous and excited and felt like a little kid. Which was kind of ironic seeing as though she had never experienced this feeling as a kid.

Dalton was happy that the fish had gone over well. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but then he had second guessed himself and wondered if it would just be a bad reminder of her father.

Seeing her face light up and seeing her worried about the fish's welfare and its name—well she had never looked so adorable. He's seen her care for her team mates and some of their victims over the years. He knew she would be a natural, even if she didn't think so herself.

And the name of the fish, well he couldn't help but smile to himself about that. Cassiopeia. Named after the constellation he had told her about in Seville. That had been a nice night with her out on that balcony; one of his stored up memories of her. Of _them_.

They both sat there smiling to themselves, lost in their own thoughts but still very much aware of the other sitting beside them. This calmness and contentedness felt too good to be true.

Not wanting to ruin that, but letting the curiosity get the better of him, Adam broached carefully, "Hey, can I ask you something?"

Jaz looked at him knowingly with a soft smile on her face, "You want to know when I knew?"

He nodded. He believed that Jaz loves him, he was in no doubt about that, but just like she had been, he was interested to know more.

She shuffled closer to him on the jetty so that they were thigh to thigh, "It was two things. Hearing you automatically refer to you and I as _we_. It just rolled off your tongue like it was second nature, like we had been an _us_ for a lot longer. And also, the way you answered that it would be you and I dealing with the whole prospect of New York and my dad. Not just myself. Like our lives were now so intertwined that that wasn't even a question. You said it so simply, but it was my moment of clarity."

He put his hand on her thigh, needing as always to feel close to her, "Our lives _are_ intertwined now. I mean they already were, but even more so now."

"I know. And I'm the happiest I've ever been."

"Me too." He agreed with her as he leaned down to kiss her, pressing his lips to hers as a commitment to that unity they now shared with each other.

When they pulled back, Jaz needed to clarify, "That wasn't when I fell in love with you though. I think that happened long ago, I think it's been creeping up on me and stayed hidden behind my insecurities. But that was when I realised it. When I accepted it."

"I think you and I are going to have fun trading some stories at some stage."

"At some stage…" She teased, leaning over to kiss him again.

No doubt they had plenty of thoughts and memories to exchange. This had all been building for so long, their connection evident right from the very beginning. But for now, this was enough. Knowing how they felt about each other was enough.

Suddenly reminded of something, Jaz got her phone out to send a quick text to someone she owed an answer to.

 _ **I finally figured it out**_ – Jaz

After ten minutes or so, a reply can through.

 _ **I'm glad**_ – Xander

 _ **You knew, of course**_ – Jaz

 _ **Guilty. I'm proud of you, Jaz. Be happy**_ – Xander

 _ **Thank you**_ – Jaz

She smiled, as she put her phone away. She owed Xander so much.

"Everything ok?" Adam asked.

"If ok means that you're cooking dinner tonight, then yes."

He laughed. They were having a barbeque, so there was no doubt who was cooking.

* * *

After dinner they sat out under the back veranda, beers in hand, staring at the stars.

"I've missed this." Dalton admitted.

"Me too." Jaz agreed.

"I wouldn't change anything about the last few weeks, but I've been itching to get back here. Being here with you too, makes it infinitely better."

That blush that she couldn't hide from and had no control over, once again made its way across her face, but at least the darkness of night hid it from Adam's view.

"I would change one thing. Two things actually." Jaz admitted.

"What are those?"

"The two times I ran. When I left without a goodbye to go and see Elijah's parents, and then again when you told me that you—that you are in love with me."

Adam couldn't help but smile when she still stuttered over him revealing his feelings to her. He felt the same way. He wasn't unsure about his feelings—he had never been so sure of anything in his life—but it was still so new that it still took him by surprise.

"I wouldn't change them. They forced us to recognise what was happening between us."

"So you're saying I did us a favour?"

"Well, a favour might be a push, but it certainly made me open my eyes—to this," Dalton indicated between the two of them before continuing, "When you went to Elijah's parents, it forced me to realise what had been going on here. And what I wanted. I wanted _you_. And then when you ran in the hotel, even though I already knew how I felt about you, it just reaffirmed it. There was absolutely no doubt. I just wanted you to be ok, that was all I was worried about."

Jaz nodded softly, seeing his point of view.

Clearing her throat, she needed to bring up a topic they needed to discuss, "So—I know we tried a couple of nights sleeping apart in DC, and had some success. I guess to continue to come to terms with our nightmares, we need to spend a few more nights apart."

Adam looked over at her, "Good job I have two bedrooms."

"Yeah." She answered glumly.

"Jaz, come here."

"Huh?"

He held out his hand to her and repeated, "Come here."

Standing up, she crossed the couple of steps to where he was sitting, accepted his outstretched hand and laughed as he pulled her onto his lap.

Looking up at her while grasping her hand tightly and with his other wrapped around her, he smiled gently.

"Jaz, even when we are in separate bedrooms, we'll only be a wall away from each other. But if it makes you feel any better, I'm not thrilled at being away from you either. If we both didn't realise how important this was for us, both individually and as a couple, I'd just say fuck it, and spend every second with you."

"Me too." She agreed. She knew as much as he did that it was for their own good and for the best reasons. But they had only just got back to the cabin. "But we don't have to start straight away do we?" She asked coyly, looking his straight in the eye.

With a glint in his eye, he placed his hand on her soft cheek and pulled her even closer, "I think we've got a good few nights ahead of us before we need to try again."

When he saw her smile spread across her face he kissed her earnestly, wanting to make sure she knew how much he wanted her.

They had only just got back. There was no way they could spend a night apart just yet. It would come in time, but for a few nights they wanted to enjoy each other, explore each other and just love each other, in all manner of the word.

As their kiss became more passionate and hungry and their need for each other was as always sky high, Adam whispered into her mouth, his own not moving far from hers, "What say we go and put one of those nights together to good use?"

She sprung away from him, surprising him at her excitement before he was brought crashing back down to earth, "After I've said goodnight to Cassiopeia." And with that she almost ran into the cabin, leaving Adam to stare after her incredulously.

He'd created a monster.

But as he shook his head, laughed to himself and walked inside, he thought to himself not for the first time, that seeing that smile on Jaz Khan's face and the excitement she had over a pet goldfish, made absolutely everything worthwhile. He'd buy her a hundred goldfish if they made her that happy.

Because she made him happy. It was as simple as that.

* * *

 **I hope you all remembered the mention in my last chapter of the goldfish that Jaz's Dad flushed down the toilet. I just thought this would be a cute storyline. There are** **a few fluffy chapters to follow this one, because I thought they deserved it after the emotional heaviness of DC.**

 **Thank you so much for reading. I would love to know what you think.**

 **Much love to you all XXX**


	43. Chapter 43

**Happy Wednesday! Or Happy Hump Day - and that's basically what this entire chapter is about - pure fluff. Hope you enjoy!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 43**

Dalton felt that something was wrong as soon as he woke. He was alone.

He instinctively reached out for Jaz, so used to having her in his arms, but when his arms grabbed nothing but air, he frowned wondering where she was.

She could be in the bathroom, but he was pretty much always the first awake, so this seemed strange.

As he was about to go in search of her, the bedroom opened and she came in with a big grin on her face. She looked a lot brighter than she usually did first thing in the morning; she would admit herself that she was far from a morning person.

"Morning." She greeted him glowingly as she lifted the covers and slid back under them and curled up alongside of him.

"Morning." He returned warily, still uncertain of her happiness—until, wait… "Cassiopeia?"

"Is still alive and doing laps of her own swimming pool." She confirmed, her eyes bright with excitement.

"I'm gonna regret buying that damn fish aren't I?"

"You're not jealous of a goldfish are you?"

"I think maybe I am." He replied solemnly. "I'm going to take it back to the store."

Responding quickly by climbing on top of him and straddling his torso, Jaz quipped, "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh yeah? Dare me."

A slow, mischievous smile spread across Jaz's face. Holding his gaze, she slowly moved her hips against his, knowing the effect she had on him. Her smile grew even wider upon hearing his low groan, it was like music to her hears. She ground herself against him, feeling him instantly become hard as his hands shot out to grab her waist, his fingers pressing tightly into her hips.

She slowly lifted her tank top over her head to discard it and leaned down to deliberately press her naked torso against his. His skin instantly turned to goose bumps.

She grazed her full breasts all over his chest, her rock hard nipples brushing against his own rock hard nipples. Feeling him grow even larger beneath her, she put her tantalising lips on his neck and sucked hard, stopping just short of giving him a hickey.

As he groaned even louder, she scraped her teeth up and down his neck, and followed them with her tongue, ensuring that every sensitive spot along his strong neck was lavished and assaulted.

Her hips continued to rock against his, her own core now just as affected as his own and when she felt his own hips lift up off the mattress to seek more of the pleasure her own were providing, she placed her lips next to his ear and whispered in a low, seductive voice, "I dare you."

She enjoyed watching him squirm beneath her and his body shook with need.

He was trying so hard to resist her, but he should have known it was futile.

"Ok, I give." He gave in a gruff and resigned whisper.

"What was that?" She checked, teasing him further, watching every hair on his body stand on end as she kissed her way across his chest and her tongue swirled around his nipples.

His hands on her hips were like a vice, clamping her down as he started to feel her own dampness rubbing against his erection, even though their underwear was still intact.

He couldn't take much more.

"I said ok. You can keep the damn fish."

A knowing smile worked its way across her face, "That's what I thought."

She quickly manoeuvred the removal of her underwear before tackling his, and sitting back on top of him, she lined him up with her entrance and slid herself down. They didn't hold back their mutual moans as the throbbing in their cores was fulfilled. Jaz gasped and arched her back as she rode him hard and fast until she climaxed in waves, the orgasm rolling through her body, over and over until she collapsed on top of him. Adam matched her thrust for thrust, clutching her hips hard until he groaned his release; a flood of heat filled her core as he spilled himself inside of her.

Laying on top of him, she kissed him lingeringly and slowly. His strong hand tangled in her hair to hold her close to him and he kissed her back just as longingly.

Pulling away, she giggled slightly and he just smirked at her.

"I suppose you're pretty happy with yourself, you got your own way?"

Leaning down to join their lips together again, she whispered against them, "Never in doubt," before pushing her tongue into his mouth, not quite done with him yet.

Her hips began to move again, his cock still buried deep inside of her. They began to move in time with her tongue and she felt his own tongue push back, while his grip once again tightened on her.

She gasped as he flipped them over so she was underneath him, "So cocky," he teased her before he began to pound into her. Their movements strong and forceful, taking them once again to a level of pleasure they were both amazed by.

This just got better and better.

Afterwards when they were once again breathless, but this time definitely satiated, Jaz snuggled into Adam's side and just smiled as she said, "I think I'll get a friend for Cassiopeia."

Adam just looked at her with a resigned face, "Great, I've created a monster."

"You love it."

A gigantic smile lit up his face, mirroring her own.

"Yeah, I do."

* * *

Despite their extended morning in bed, they decided to hike to the waterfall later that morning.

It was a warm day, and Dalton knew that by the end of the following week when the last of the summer camps finished up, the crowd there would become slightly larger and it would lose some of its appeal.

After a much needed breakfast, they packed up some of the goodies they had bought the day before as snacks, and they set out for the long walk there.

As usual, Jaz took a load of photos along the way of the flora and fauna, causing Adam to tease her, "Aren't they just going to be exactly the same as the photos you took last time?"

"It's been three weeks, stuff changes. And this time it feels different."

His face softened as he realised that this was the first time they would be going to what now seemed like _their_ waterfall as a couple. Not just as friends or an undefined entity, as a fully-fledged couple. He reached out for her hand as this dawned on him and her responding smile had him pulling her close. They remained like that for the rest of their walk, and he didn't even groan when she insisted on taking some selfies.

Upon arriving at their destination, they were relieved to find not too many other people around.

While they were no means unsociable, they just wanted to be mostly alone. They had waited so long to be alone together; every moment was precious.

After their long walk, the soft ripples of water beckoned to them with the promise of cooling the heat from their skin.

Finding a spot to put down their bags, Jaz was momentarily nervous at stripping down to her bikini.

Yes. Of course she had worn _that_ bikini. She knew that Adam loved it and that it had been something he was looking forward to seeing her in again. She had nearly worn the new bikini that she had purchased the day before in town, as she knew he would love that one too. But for now she thought she would give him what he wanted, and save the other one up for another day.

Still, nervousness washed over her. She wasn't the kind of woman that usually cared what someone thought of her. In fact, that was something she actually liked about herself. She'd never been one to try and please people, she had learnt that that was usually impossible, from a very early age. Since then she hadn't really given a fuck what people thought of her, which had rubbed some people the wrong way, and had earnt respect from others.

But now, being here with Adam, and being _in love_ with Adam, the self-consciousness that she had rarely felt was a strange feeling. Her scars were visible, yes. But that wasn't it. She's still getting used to someone looking at her the way Adam looks at her. Like she's the only person on the planet. The only person that matters. It was simultaneously unnerving and heart-stopping.

Telling herself she was being silly, it wasn't like it was the first time he had ever seen her in this bikini—and he had seen her in a lot less—she started to strip away her clothes until the bikini was the only item of clothing left.

When Adam took his t-shirt off and turned to throw it over their bags, he swallowed deeply at the sight of this beautiful woman in _that_ swimsuit.

Seeing his eyes almost glaze over, her self-consciousness started to abate. Despite her modesty, she couldn't deny that when Adam Dalton looked at her like that, it was as if the world stopped. Like no one other than the two of them existed.

Adam froze with a look of wonderment on his face. He had seen Jaz in this bikini a few times already, but she just looked better and better every time.

It's not like he had ever been averse to the female body. He appreciated the female form greatly and was in awe of what it was capable of. It wasn't like Jaz was the first female he had ever seen in a bikini either, it was just that no one, _no one_ , had ever had this effect on him.

She was the only one who had ever made him feel this way. In awe. And like he just couldn't get enough.

Without saying anything to him, Jaz just started to walk toward the water. Her skin was on fire from the way Adam was looking at her and without something to cool it down, she might self-combust.

Catching up with her as quickly as he could, he fought to keep his hands to himself as they passed a few other people already finding relief from the heat in the refreshing water.

Instead they both just plunged straight in, the water immediately alleviating the warmth of the day and when they surfaced they were already in the centre of the lake at the bottom of the falls with Jaz having to tread water as the bottom was out of her depth.

Adam was thankful to be in the water and that his lower body was out of sight. That damn bikini did it to him every time and even though the coolness of the water was respite for the heat in his skin, it didn't do anything to assuage the heat running through his blood.

Struggling to resist and giving in to the inevitability, he took two steps closer to her and pulled her into his arms. She no longer had a need to tread water so as she wrapped her arms around his neck and entwined her legs around his waist.

She could barely hold back her gasp when she felt how hard he was and his hands clenched her ass and pulled her even closer.

"Adam we can't. There's other people here."

"Don't I know it." He bit out through clenched teeth.

She couldn't help but laugh as she watched him clearly struggling. It still amazed her that this was Adam Dalton; the most in control person she had ever met—struggling to stay in control.

"You think this is funny?" He asked her, her laughter only getting louder as she witnessed the strain on his face.

"I do, actually."

"Well we'll see about that."

He started to walk them backwards toward the actual waterfall, his mind suddenly full of determination.

She felt his hand slip beneath her bikini bottom as they were still making their way and she buried her face in his neck to disguise the moan in her throat as his skilled fingers found her clit immediately. She rocked her hips against his hand, needing him urgently.

He stroked her eagerly, feeling her engorge in his hand. As soon as they were behind the fall of water, hidden from view, Adam wasted no time in moving her bikini bottoms aside, freeing his cock from his boxers and thrusting straight up inside of her.

"Fuck," She couldn't help but cry out, thankful of the noise of the water masking her.

She clung to him even tighter with a kind of desperation that matched his powerful and fast thrusts. She felt him everywhere. Beneath her heels, his ass cheeks clenched with every thrust. The muscles in his shoulders rippled as his whole body worked both against and with hers. This wasn't going to last long for either of them

His mouth took hers possessively, demanding surrender. She gave it to him. She gave herself to him. She kissed him back with an equal amount of ferociousness until the pleasure became so intense she knew she was just moments away from coming.

He slammed up into her with an urgency he couldn't describe and she responded by thrusting her tongue into his mouth, mimicking the movement of him inside of her. She rode him hard, equally as desperate as he was and he kissed her like he'd stop breathing if her mouth wasn't glued to his.

She wrapped herself even closer around him and her body caught fire as she tumbled over the edge with a sharp cry, pulling back from his lips to throw her head back in ecstasy.

He came immediately after she did; burying his face in her neck as he shuddered, the throbbing ache that he had needed to satisfy, swelling inside of him and exploding inside of Jaz.

Their breath was ragged and forceful as they continued to rock together. Their hearts thundered against each other, every part of their bodies on fire, regardless of the water surrounding them.

Resting her head in the crook of his neck, sudden exhaustion taking over her, he moved his lips to whisper in her ear, "Still think it's funny?"

Jaz didn't even have the energy to respond. She just shook her head, not bothering to lift her head.

He chuckled in response and slowly slid out of her. He thread his fingers through her hair to move her face from his neck and lifted it to face his own, his eyes gluing themselves to hers.

"You and that bikini drive me fucking insane. I don't think I'll ever get enough of you."

Her eyes still held a slightly glassy look, still coming down from what they had just shared, "I know for a fact I can't get enough of you."

They still held each other, trying to get their breathing back under control.

It was pretty clear that they couldn't get enough of _each other_.

* * *

While they ate some lunch, once again needing the sustenance, they enjoyed the sunshine, but were missing Patton's company. That dog had become like family and it definitely felt like someone was missing while they were there without him.

Jaz made a mental note to text Preach when they were back at the cabin to check on him.

They debated whether to go for another swim or not, but after they had finished eating, more people had appeared to enjoy the day's weather and they thought in the interests of the general public, it was best for them to stay on land.

Neither of them were into voyeurism, and their control was, well… out of control.

Instead they set back off at a leisurely pace and as soon as they came into some reception, about a half an hour away from the cabin, Adam's phone began to beep with some incoming messages.

Noticing him looking long and hard at his phone before shoving it back in his pocket, Jaz asked, "Everything ok?"

"Yeah," he glanced over at her, "Just my sisters."

"Are they ok?"

"They're fine. They just want to know if I'm back and when they can come up here."

"I thought they didn't like it up here."

"Oh they love to visit, especially when the kids are with them. They love to swim in the lake and go on adventures. They just don't want to live up here." He explained.

He'd only seen his sisters a couple of times since the end of their last deployment. Once when he had first gotten back and the second time when Jaz had fled to Elijah's parents. He knew he should see more of them; he just didn't want to make Jaz uncomfortable.

"So when are they coming up?" Jaz asked.

Maybe it wasn't going to be an issue after all.

"You uh—you wouldn't mind them coming up here."

Jaz frowned, "Adam, they're your family. Your sisters. You should definitely see them while you're home; as much as you can. Why would I mind?"

He reached out for her hand, lacing his fingers with hers.

"I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Hey," She stopped walking abruptly and turned to face him, "I'm a big girl. Besides I want to meet them."

By the tone of her voice he knew that she was genuine, but also nervous. And he understood where that was coming from. Her version of family held no happy memories, and while he had his own family history that he had been reticent to discuss openly in the past, he did try to watch out for his sisters and protect them. And he wanted to see how big his nieces and nephews were getting.

"Ok, if you're sure, I'll see when they are free."

Of course Jaz was sure. The job they did showed her every day the importance of seeing family and friends whenever you could, and the last two weeks with Xander had opened up her eyes to that even more. While she didn't have that relationship with her own family—that was well beyond repair—she definitely wanted Adam, and all her team mates for that matter, to spend as much time with their loved ones as they could.

Would she be nervous to meet them? Yes. But that didn't mean she didn't want to. She wanted to know everything she could about Adam Dalton, and a big factor in that was his family.

Jaz just squeezed his hand in response, but didn't let go of it. They walked back the rest of the way like that, not saying much, but joined together nonetheless.

* * *

As soon as they got back, Jaz urged Adam to call his sisters and set something up with them, which he did so immediately. He wandered out onto the back veranda to chat to each of them.

Sitting on the kitchen bench watching Cassiopeia swim laps, Jaz called Preach to ask after Patton and sent a few different pictures from their day to their group chat.

When Adam came back inside and leaned against the kitchen bench beside her, Jaz looked at him expectantly, "So what's the plan?"

"How do you feel about lunch with them tomorrow? The older kids are still at camp until the end of the week and the younger ones are in day care and kindergarten. It'll just be the two of them."

"Let's do it."

"Alright. I said we would meet them in town. Let me just text them back."

"Ok, I'm going in the shower."

Despite the noise of the running water filling the bathroom, and the apple scented shampoo suds filling her ears and streaming down her body, Jaz was instinctively aware the moment that Adam stepped foot in the bathroom. Truth be told, she had been expecting him. _Waiting_ for him.

She turned to face him as he opened the shower door and stepped in, marvelling at the vision that was Adam Dalton. He was exquisite and her gaze ate him up. She's not sure she will ever stop being effected by the sight of him.

"Couldn't stay away, huh?" She smirked at him.

"Well, McG would be disappointed if we didn't put this double shower to good use, right?"

"Right." Jaz agreed, remembering McG's comments about this double shower when he had visited the cabin.

Adam walked directly under the stream of water and helped wash the suds out of Jaz's hair.

His gaze locked with hers before he reached behind her for the shower gel. Jaz didn't say a word as he lathered up his hands, but when his large, strong palms touched her skin, she couldn't disguise the spark of desire that slipped out of her mouth.

He ran his soapy hands all over her, kneading and massaging her tingling flesh as he washed off the day's dirt and grime. His touch was methodical and he left no part untouched.

It was Jaz's turn next and after spreading the soap all over the toned muscles of his back, and his great taut butt, she turned him around to continue across his chest. His chest was broad, and powerful and she continued down his well-defined abdominals to his raw arousal, jutting proudly from his groin.

He was hard and aching and as Jaz reached out her hand to wrap around his cock, he jerked as if he'd been struck. His gaze lowered to watch her small hand handle his length and he hissed as she began to stroke his shaft.

The soap still clinging to his skin made it easy to glide her fist up and down his cock and she smiled when he tried to thrust faster and harder into her hand.

His blue eyes were alight with desire and his lips parted as he continued to stare at her. She grasped him tighter and pumped harder and his continued moans mingled with the sound of water rushing from the shower head.

Adam's face creased as if he were in pain and his hips started to move as he thrust his cock into her fist. He placed his hands on the tiles behind her to steady his trembling body. Knowing he would come in her hand in about five more seconds, he quickly spun her around to face the tiles, gripped her hands in his and held them against the tiles in front of her.

In this position she felt his whole engorged length flush against her back and she heard him moan once more as he ground himself into her back.

Releasing her hands, he ran his own up the front of her lithe figure to palm her full breasts, hearing her groan once he found and fondled her nipples. Squeezing them, they puckered in response and she arched into his hands as desire sizzled from her breasts to her clit.

With her hands still bracing herself on the tiles in front of her, she felt his cock brush against her back before she felt the head of his erection nudging her opening.

He reached down and around her to press his finger against her clit and at the same time he drove inside of her, so hard and so deep that she gasped out loud.

He needed to brace himself against the tiles, and once he found some traction he slammed into her in frenzied thrusts, hitting a spot deep inside of her that made her throb.

It felt good. So fucking good. Jaz's body stretched to accommodate his thick length and clamped him tight in return to trap him inside of her. Her entire body sizzled as if she could burst into flames at any moment.

Adam didn't let up his hard, relentless tempo. His deep thrusts brought moan after moan to both their lips, and he put his mouth right next to her ear as he whispered in a voice laden with desire, "You're so fucking beautiful Jaz."

She briefly reached a hand up to his cheek, needing to touch him, but as his pace quickened even more, she quickly returned it to the tiles to brace herself even further.

"Oh god, don't stop." She begged, and Adam lowered a hand to once again finger her swollen clit, inciting even more pleasure into her nerve endings.

His fingers worked their magic on her until she could no longer think clearly. Her vision became a blur of white dots as the simultaneous pressure on her clit and his length pumping her hard, had her body tightening with tension.

Her small body, pulsating with arousal couldn't hold out much longer and when he whispered in her ear, "Come for me, Jaz," her surroundings faded away, the pressure broke apart and a blinding rush of ecstasy swept through her body.

She would have collapsed if Adam didn't have a firm grip on her hips. Behind her, his thrusts got faster, deeper and harder until he buried himself to the hilt and she felt him go still apart from his chest trembling against her back as he climaxed. He virtually growled with his release and his fingers gripped her even more tightly.

They were both ragged and panting, completely out of breath, and if not for Adam's arms now tightly wrapped around her, they would have found themselves on the floor.

He let his head fall into the curve of her shoulder and neck and she leaned into him, still getting pleasure from every touch of his body.

It took them quite a while for their breathing to return to normal and it was only then that Adam withdrew from her and turned her around to face him.

"You ok?" He asked as he brushed her hair back from over her shoulder.

"I'm more than ok. It's been quite a day."

He just smiled at her. It sure had been quite a day. He knew they wouldn't all be like this, but he wasn't complaining.

"I love you." He said softly, never wanting her to forget that.

The heat in Jaz's cheeks could be from their vigorous work out or from the heat of the shower. But more than likely it was from the immense happiness that this man invoked in her.

"I love you too."

They pressed their lips together knowing that neither of them would ever tire of hearing those precious words.

* * *

Sitting on the couch together after dinner with a bottle of wine open, Jaz couldn't help but reflect on the last few days. They had been huge for her. Finally coming to the realisation of how she felt about Adam had been not only a relief, but a mind fuck. An absolute mind fuck.

She hadn't known she was even capable of these feelings. She had always just assumed that love wasn't destined for her or suitable for her, and yet here she was, _in love_ with Adam Dalton. And he was in love with her too.

"Hey, what're you thinking about?"

Adam's question broke her out of her reverie and she realised she had just been staring into space.

Remembering their promise to communicate, she was truthful, "The last few days actually, and what a mind fuck they have been."

"You're telling me," Adam laughed, agreeing wholeheartedly with her. He still had to shake himself to fully grasp their situation and the depth of his feelings for her.

"I know I explained last night when it was that I realised how I feel about you. But there's more…" Jaz broached tentatively.

"Talk to me."

Jaz lowered her eyes, wanting to share this with Adam, but still feeling a little embarrassed to talk about this stuff.

"I, umm—I didn't just realise how I felt about you. I realised how important you are to me. Not just as my Captain or CO, not just as a friend, but so much more. I realised how much of my life is now wrapped up in yours, and how thankful I am for that. I thought being a part of this team was the best thing that ever happened to me. But it led me to you. And you are the best thing by far. I thought at first that it was just professionally, but it's personally as well. Just the thought of being without you is something I can't fathom, and that's why that picture of you with the bullet wound to your head made me break. I've never felt like this before and it scares me. The way I feel about you scares me. More than I want to admit. But I can't imagine not having you in my life. You know I have trust issues. But not with you. I trust you with my life, and I trust you with my heart."

Adam was speechless. Those words meant so much to him, and all the more because it came from Jaz. He knew she had trust issues and that the concept of love was as foreign to her as it had been to him.

He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips to kiss her knuckles and whispered against them, "Thank you. It scares me too, Jaz. I've never felt like this before either."

Her eyes were wide, searching his for any glimpse of fear, confusion or rejection. But all she saw was warmth and love, making her heart thud against her chest.

"We'll figure this out together, Jaz. It's new for both of us. But just knowing how we feel about each other, already makes it easier. I'm glad it's you I'm doing this with."

"Me too."

Adam framed her face with his large hands, cupping her cheeks and looking into her eyes. He kissed her, trying to convey every emotion he was feeling right then; every new feeling that was making his heart beat faster than usual, and Jaz did exactly the same thing.

Their kiss became more passionate and heated, and once again their need for each other took over any other thought, as they lay down together on the couch and loved each other—in every facet of the word.

* * *

 **So this chapter was just umm - well I think it was needed. There are still quite a few chapters left of them at the cabin and in the next chapter you will meet Dalton's sisters.**

 **Thank you so much for continuing to read and I hope you all still enjoy it. Special thanks as always to those of you who comment. You keep me motivated and I love reading your thoughts. Much love XXX**


	44. Chapter 44

**Well - I don't think I've ever updated within FOUR days! When I should be writing mid-year reports and marking millions of assignments, I find myself writing and editing this instead. What can you do? Sorry to all the parents of students out there. I promise that us teachers do get our work done - but something has to clear the mind sometimes...**

 **Thank you so much for the comments on my last chapter, they are so greatly appreciated and apologies for not replying to them yet.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 44**

The next morning started much the same way the previous one had. Dalton woke up alone, only this time he knew exactly where Jaz was. Sure enough within a couple of minutes, she appeared beside him again, the smile wide on her face.

"Cassiopeia's still alive then?"

She dug a finger into his side and as he flinched she replied, "Cass is alive and kicking thank you very much."

He grabbed her wrists and pulled her into his side, nuzzling her neck.

"Ok, I admit, I'm totally jealous of a goldfish."

"I knew it."

"I just miss waking up with you next to me." His lips moved against her neck as he spoke to her and she felt herself starting to cave.

"I suppose that Cass could survive a bit longer without being checked on."

Despite her excitement over her first pet, waking up with Adam and snuggling in to him was the favourite part of her day. And she found it incredibly cute that Adam felt the same way. Of course she wouldn't tell him she thought it was _cute_. She doubted that Adam Dalton had ever been described as cute in his life. But she was discovering new things about him every day and this was definitely cute.

Dalton was roaming her neck with his incredibly warm and talented lips, the prickles of his beard abrading her skin and turning it into fire at the same time his strong and very capable hands started to roam her body.

Yep. He won.

* * *

They ended up skipping breakfast, despite working up an appetite. They thought they would save it up for lunch with his sisters.

Despite the flurry of nerves that Jaz felt deep in her stomach, she was also really looking forward to meeting them.

Pouring them each a cup of coffee, Jaz sat herself up on the kitchen bench and took the opportunity to ask him about his siblings prior to meeting them.

"So tell me about your sisters before I meet them later on."

Taking a long gulp of his coffee, before letting out a large sigh and leaning against the bench she was sitting on, Adam lamented, "Where do I begin?"

After a small pause, he started, "Sarah is the eldest of my sisters. She's a teacher and she's just a couple of years younger than me. She has three kids, a daughter who is ten and twin boys who are four. They're a handful, but they love being outdoors, so the last time I saw them I was a big hit. She's married, but currently separated from her husband. He's great, but works shift work and I think it started to take its toll."

He paused to take another sip before continuing, "Then there's Kathryn, who we call Katie. She's six years younger than me and has two daughters who are seven and three. She runs an online health and fitness business. I don't know her husband as well as I would like; I just haven't seen a lot of him, but by all accounts they're very happy."

"So she's the youngest?" Jaz wanted to clarify.

Clearing his throat before he spoke, he tried to hide the expression of pain that crossed his face, but to no avail, and he said gruffly, "No, Jessie—Jessica was the youngest. She was killed when I was sixteen. She was only eight years old."

Jaz was shocked. Adam had rarely talked about his family, but she knew a few tidbits that he had shared with her over the years. She knew it hadn't always been easy, but she had no idea that he had lost a sister.

Overcome with an instant need to comfort him, she placed her palm on his cheek, "I had no idea."

He leaned into her palm before saying softly, "It's not something I really talk about."

Brushing her thumb across his cheek, she asked, "Can I ask what happened?"

If this had been before his most recent sessions with Xander, Adam would have probably avoided the question. In fact, he probably wouldn't have brought it up at all. But now, he had begun to realise how important this kind of communication was and he wanted to share this with Jaz. He knew that this is what they had promised to continue to work on.

"It was a car accident. The car hit a tree, she was in the passenger seat and was killed instantly. Drunk driver."

"Fuck." Jaz expressed softly, "Did they get the driver?"

Adam slowly raised his eyes to meet hers and she saw both the anger and sorrow reflected in them when he said in an even tone, "It was single car accident. Our Dad was the driver."

Dismay and sorrow washed over Jaz as she processed what he had just revealed to her. She knew his father had issues with alcohol, but she wouldn't have even guessed that it went this far.

She pulled him so he stood between her legs, where she was still sitting on the bench, raised her other hand to his cheek so his face was cradled within her palms and she rested her forehead against his.

"I'm so sorry." She breathed out, just holding him close, listening to his own slightly ragged breaths.

After a moment he put down his coffee and reached out to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her close. Just having her near him helped. He hadn't spoken about this in so long, he'd forgotten how much it could hurt. He'd kept it buried and hidden from just about everyone, which was why when Hoffman had brought it up, it had been both a shock and a catalyst to his ultimate plan.

"Hoffman knew." He whispered, not changing the position he was in, but wanting to confide in her.

"What? How?"

"I have no idea," He breathed loudly, "And that weighs on me. But, it only further confirmed my decision to put him down."

He didn't need to justify anything to Jaz. She knew that if someone with Adam's integrity had thought he needed to end Hoffman's life, then that was it. Especially after what had happened to Preach and Patricia. She now understood the shadows in his eyes when he had returned to the hospital. Some of them had been for Preach, and some of them had been for himself. That darkness that he tried to leave behind, never quite letting go.

She moved her hands from his face to wrap around his neck and pulled him even closer, wanting to comfort him however she could.

"You did the right thing," she whispered into his ear, and she felt him clutch her tighter in response. Her heart was breaking at what he had revealed about both his family and Hoffman. She wanted to be there for him, just like he had been there for her, every step of the way.

They stood like that for a long time. Both of them finding comfort in the other and gaining strength from their closeness.

* * *

If you were looking at Jaz when she and Adam arrived in town for lunch, you would have no idea that she was nervous. She hadn't often felt nerves in her life, until these last few weeks with Adam, and now as she was about to meet his family, is was as if an entire species of butterflies were having a rave inside of her.

Her usual nonchalance or indifference at meeting new people, was replaced with fear. Fear that they may not like her. Fear that they might not think she was good enough for Adam. Hell, she struggled with that own fear herself.

But knowing her like he did, Adam just looked over at her, "You good?"

"Would you think I'm horrible if I said, I'd be better if I had my Sig."

Bursting out with laughter, Adam leaned over to squeeze her hand with his, "No. If they turn into pains in the ass, I'll lend you mine."

Jaz chuckled in response. Despite her nerves, she was also intrigued. So much about Adam had always been a mystery so she was eager to find out more.

When they entered the café they were meeting at, Adam waved in greeting at two females already seated at a table by the window. Walking towards them, Jaz was instantly struck by the strong family resemblance. Even if she was to walk past these two as strangers on the street, she would be able to pick right away that they were Dalton's.

They both stood up and came around the table to greet them both. Adam introduced the taller of the two to Jaz first as Sarah, followed by the clearly younger sister as Katie.

When they sat down, Jaz couldn't help but smile at the strong family resemblance. All three Dalton's had the same shade of dark blonde hair. Sarah's was shoulder length, and it was thick like Adam's. Katie's was much longer, and hung in soft waves.

Their eyes were also the exact same shade of blue that Jaz always lost herself in when staring into Adam's. She was definitely the odd one out at the table with her much darker features.

While they perused the menu, Katie asked, "Are we having some wine with lunch since it's a special occasion?"

"What's the occasion?" Dalton enquired, momentarily worried he had missed a birthday or anniversary.

Katie grinned at him, "It's the first time we've ever met a significant other of yours big bro, and we've been hoping it'd be Jaz."

A curious expression crossed Jaz's face as Adam rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Subtle… real subtle."

Katie just giggled and Jaz could already tell that she was going to be a lot of fun.

After ordering their meals and a bottle of wine for the table, Dalton asked after Sarah and Katie's kids. Jaz could tell he was keen to catch up with his nieces and nephews when they had finished up at camp, and while she had never spent much time around kids, she hoped she got to meet them too.

She sat back and observed the family dynamics. Both sisters clearly adored and looked up to their big brother. They hung on every word he said and looked genuinely pleased when he asked after their lives. Given the knowledge that Adam had shared with Jaz earlier today, she wondered what their relationship had been like over the years.

Sarah seemed a little more reserved that Katie and a little more serious. Still very friendly, but there was a reticent look in her eyes that she couldn't mask from someone trained to be highly observant. Katie on the other hand was bubbly and vivacious. The spark in her blue eyes was the same she had seen on very recent occasions with Adam. She hadn't seen it a lot in the last three years, but the more time she was spending with him alone, the more she saw it. And the more she loved it.

"So tell us about you two," Katie prompted.

"Katie—leave them alone," Sarah reprimanded.

Adam once again just rolled his eyes, but knew he had to give them something, "Jaz and I work together." He said simply with a shrug of his shoulders.

"We know that dummy. How did it progress to _this_?" She gestured towards the two of them and Jaz could instantly feel her face start to flush.

Glancing at her quickly, Dalton saw the tinge of pink on her cheeks and his eyes instantly softened "Jaz came to visit me at the cabin and we just spent a lot more time together, and here we are."

"How are you liking the cabin, Jaz?" Sarah asked, letting them off the hook a bit.

Jaz huffed out a laugh, "Your brother always made out like it was some hut in the middle of nowhere and that he was some sort of mountain man, so when I actually saw how well equipped and decked out it was, it was a shock. I imagined I'd be sleeping in a tent out the back or on a wooden floor, not in a fully decorated guest bedroom."

Sarah and Katie both laughed while Adam defended himself to Jaz, "You guys all came to that conclusion yourself."

"You didn't steer us in the other direction though."

"It had to be seen to be believed."

Sarah joined in, "I have to admit I couldn't live up there, but it's fun to visit, especially with the kids."

Jaz nodded, but admitted, "I've grown to love it up there. I love the quiet."

Adam smiled and moved his arm so it was resting along the back of her seat, "See, told you it was ideal," he directed to his sisters.

They took their own turn to roll their eyes at him, but at the same time exchanged small smiles with each other. If anything, it was Jaz that was ideal. They had never seen their brother with someone, and it was obvious how happy he was.

"So tell us about your family, Jaz." Katie asked innocently.

A small shadow crossed Jaz's eyes, not quite sure how to respond. She felt Adam's hand move to rest on her shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. She knew she didn't have to answer. She could have made something up. She could have deflected the question. She could have taken on a cover as if this was one of their missions. But this was Adam's family. His sisters. She didn't want to lie. At the same time, she didn't want to go into too much detail either.

"I don't have any contact with them. I guess you could say we're estranged."

She felt Adam's hand squeeze her shoulder again and saw the look of sadness cross Katie's eyes, "I'm so sorry, Jaz. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's ok," Jaz shrugged, "It is what it is. I eventually found my real family in my job," She revealed, not masking the look of love in her eyes as she glanced at Adam, that pink tinge on her cheeks, now flaring a shade of red.

When they saw Adam look back at Jaz with the same sentiment Sarah and Katie exchanged glances. They were sad to hear about Jaz's family, but elated to see their brother and Jaz look so happy.

Deciding to steer away from any more personal questions for now, the conversation steered in a much more general direction for the remainder of their meal and they tried to figure out a day for them to all visit the cabin with their kids.

* * *

When they left the café and walked towards where Sarah and Katie had parked, Jaz decided to excuse herself to give Adam a moment with them both.

"I'm just going to run in the store really quickly. It was great to meet you both."

Before Jaz could walk away, Katie gave her a huge bear hug. "It was so great to meet you, can't wait to catch up again soon." The genuine look in her eyes blew Jaz away and she found herself actually looking forward to spending more time with her.

Sarah came up and gave her a hug too, not quite as enthusiastically as Katie, but still genuine, and Jaz walked towards the store smiling. She hadn't had a lot to do with many women over the years, but she liked Adam's sisters. She hoped they liked her too, which wasn't something she worried about very often.

Sarah and Katie nudged each other as they watched Adam, who was watching Jaz walk away. His eyes followed her until she entered the store, and only then did he turn back to face his sisters' knowing smiles.

"What?" He asked dryly.

"You've got it bad." Sarah said knowingly.

"It looks good on you." Katie agreed.

Putting a hand up to rub the back of his neck, he avoided looking at either of them. He's not sure how much he wanted to reveal to the two of them yet. Even though he and Jaz knew how they felt about each other, they were still figuring things out and still figuring each other out. This was new to both of them—having feelings this strong. They haven't even thought about or addressed the bigger picture yet, and he didn't want to have that conversation with his sisters either. For now, he would just let them think whatever they wanted to.

Despite all of that, he was glad that they met Jaz. He's never had anyone to introduce them to before, never had anyone that he _wanted_ to introduce them to before and he knew that they, Katie in particular, would be jumping to so many conclusions.

Deciding to sidestep all of that for now, with another quick conversation about catching up with them next week, he hugged them goodbye and went to catch up with Jaz in the store.

* * *

"So did those two manage to scare you off?" Adam came up behind Jaz in the chocolate aisle, placing his hands on her shoulders, his mouth close to her ear.

"Not even close," She replied, turning around to face him.

"So why are there already three blocks of chocolate in the basket, when we already have a ton back at the cabin?"

"I have a sweet tooth." Jaz retorted, but smiled knowing she had been sprung. "They didn't scare me off; it was just a new experience meeting someone's family."

"You met Elijah's family, and you know Preach's family too."

"Yes. But I'm not in love with either one of them."

"Thank goodness." Adam responded, leaning down to capture her lips with his and smiling at how easily that had rolled off her lips.

They stood there in the chocolate aisle, exchanging a few more kisses and smiling like teenagers at each other.

"So, what else did you need to get in here?"

"I want to go down the pet aisle. I want to get a plant for Cass' fish bowl."

"Of course you do."

* * *

On the drive back to the cabin, Jaz took the opportunity to ask Adam a few questions. A few weeks ago, she wouldn't have dared to ask, but now they were working on communication. It went both ways.

"Did you get along with your sisters growing up?"

Dalton took a breath, "Yeah for the most part, as much as siblings do anyway. I was the oldest so I guess I watched out for them when I could, but they were also annoying little sisters too, you know? All three of them."

"Do you keep in contact with them a lot when you're deployed?" Jaz was curious about this as Adam didn't share too much at all when they were away. Hearing a few weeks ago that he emailed Elijah's parents semi-regularly had surprised her, in a good way, but knowing more about his family now, she was curious.

"Not as much as I should." He admitted with a sigh.

After a few moments of introspection, he continued, "I signed up for the military as soon as I legally could. As soon I was eighteen I was out of there, and other than when my Mom passed away, I've only ever been home for a couple of months at a time. I think it was harder on Sarah than Katie. She was older, and had to take on some responsibility when I left; Katie was still just a kid. I was home for Sarah's wedding, but not Katie's. I love my nieces and nephews, and I'm pretty sure that's reciprocal—but I could have been better. I could have been there more and stayed in contact more."

"How did your Mom pass away?" Jaz asked softly.

"Breast cancer. Four years after I joined the army. My Dad went to jail for five years after Jessie was killed. When he was released, Mom was already sick. I guess you could say it wasn't the best welcome home for him—not that he deserved it—and other than Mom's funeral and a handful of times after that, we've pretty much been estranged. Sarah took Katie under her wing while she finished up her schooling, and I guess you could say that I have some residual guilt that I left so soon, but I think all things considered, they both turned out alright."

Jaz's heart ached for him and his family, and for the little sister he never got to see grow up. She reached out and grabbed the hand resting on his thigh and gripped it tightly, her thumb rubbing back and forth trying to offer him some comfort.

He smiled somewhat sadly at her, "I know I wasn't the best big brother, but I was angry, you know? And the military helped me put that anger to good use. And tamed it at the same time."

Jaz remembered their fire side chat after she had just been cleared for duty after her ordeal in Tehran. She remembered him telling her of his anger getting out of control in Fallujah when his friend was killed. Of how he had a taste for blood and his CSM had to get him in line. Of how in wanting to inflict more pain he had lost sight of what made him better than them. Of how he feared that the dark side he met that day, would never go away.

No doubt his anger had been deep seated to begin with, and the military had been a catalyst in figuring all that anger out.

"I know exactly what you mean." She offered, recalling some of her own moments of deep set anger that the military had both fuelled and abated. "You did the best you could," she soothed him, "You needed to work your own shit out, and that's a marathon not a sprint. Besides, it's never too late to do better."

He looked at her sideways, "You've either been hanging around Xander too long, or Preach."

Chuckling softly, she just gripped his hand tighter, "I definitely think they're both starting to rub off on me."

"I will do better." He confirmed, sounding determined, "But they don't need me as much anymore."

"If I've learned anything over the last two weeks, or the last two months, or even over the last three years, it's that we all need people in our lives, we just don't always realise it until it's too late. You have a family Adam. They love you. They want you in their lives. That's something."

"Spiritual jujitsu much?" he laughed, but lifted her hand to his mouth to kiss it softly. "You're right though."

"It happens."

They both laughed out loud, and with that, some of the heaviness of the conversation seeped away.

"I'm glad you're here."

This time Jaz lifted his hand to her mouth to kiss it tenderly, "Me too."

* * *

They sat under the stars that night on the back veranda, just looking skyward.

Adam was happy with how the meeting between his sisters and Jaz had played out earlier. Not that he ever thought that they wouldn't like each other, but he had never had anyone to introduce to his sisters before. They knew as well as he did, that it would have to be someone special to meet them. Especially given the relatively remote and closed off lifestyle he enjoyed at the cabin.

Jaz was that person. She was special.

He also knew what a big step that had been for Jaz. He hadn't wanted to put her in an uncomfortable position, but to her credit, she had taken it all in her stride and seemed to like Sarah and Katie.

They had come so far since their deployment had ended. He never would have guessed that they would be where they are now, and that he would be introducing her to his family. She had always been special, but it had always seemed impossible.

It was also somewhat of a relief to tell Jaz about Jessie. And his father. He had kept that to himself for so long, that he had been overwhelmed with the feelings of grief that had arisen. He usually compartmentalised that part of his life so well, but he had actually _wanted_ to tell Jaz. He wanted to let her in. And he's glad he did.

Jaz herself, was also happy with how today had eventuated. The nerves she had felt when meeting Adam's sisters, calmed when she saw how great they were. And she was still so happy that Adam had wanted her to meet his sisters. His family.

Hearing about his little sister, Jessie and his Dad had been a shock. She felt so much empathy for Adam that he carried that around with him. But that's what soldiers did. They compartmentalised and got on with it. And that's why he was the best of the best. But at the same time, feeling him tremble in her arms earlier as his emotions were stirred, both broke her heart, as well as provoked a feeling of security that he felt he could share that with her.

They were really doing this. Sharing their lives. And yes, they were just ignoring the obvious with their careers for now, but that would come. For the time being, they were living in the moment and just loving each other.

That reminded Jaz of something.

Looking over at Adam, seeing him just staring at the sky, deep in thought, she asked, "Hey, earlier when Katie said they'd been hoping it would be me—what did she mean?"

Adam shrugged, "I'm not exactly sure, you'll have to ask her. I've mentioned you to them before when they've asked about the people I work with. That's it."

Jaz made a mental note to ask Katie, she definitely wanted to know more about that.

"Wanna go camping the day after tomorrow?" Adam asked her suddenly.

"When you say camping, do you mean in an actual tent? Or do you have some sort of other luxury cabin hidden away somewhere?"

He laughed in response and she could see the twinkle in his eye illuminated by the moonlight, "No other cabin. I definitely mean in a tent. Near a lake. With a fire in the evening and good old camp cooking."

"Sounds amazing." Jaz smiled at him, meaning every word. She was no stranger to roughing it, and if she was with him, she was willing to go anywhere, no matter how rough it was.

"Maybe tomorrow night we should sleep apart then. We'll be spending the next two nights in close quarters anyway, unless you want a separate tent?"

Jaz thought over his suggestion, and admittedly it was a good one. They had to try these nights alone, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

"Same tent. And ok, but not tonight, right?"

"Not tonight." He agreed with her, sending her a smile that both made her melt and set her on fire at the same time.

Would this effect that he had on her, ever go away? She hoped not, because the more time she spent with Adam Dalton, the more she never, ever wanted to be away from him.

* * *

 **So I had to take some creative licence with Dalton's sister's and family situation - since you know, the show got prematurely cancelled before we could find out more... *Deep breaths***

 **I was nervous to introduce new characters, so I hope it reads okay. They won't be major characters, but they definitely appear again, and I think given the direction I've chosen to take with this story, that it was important to include them.**

 **Thank you so much for continuing to read this story. Your kudos and comments keep me so motivated. So much so, that I've updated in FOUR days - I've even shocked myself!**

 **I'm going overseas in a week, so I will try to update one more chapter before then, because I won't be updating then for a couple of weeks.**

 **Thank you so much and much love as always. You're all amazing! XXX**


	45. Chapter 45

**Happy Friday & Happy Weekend. This chapter is a bit of a filler, but I hope you still like it.**

 **I don't own The Brave, or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 45**

"Can I take your truck for a bit?" Jaz asked Adam as they still lay in bed, having just finished ravishing each other.

"You need to go into town?" Adam quizzed.

"Yeah. I just need a couple of things before we go camping tomorrow."

"No worries, I'll go with you."

"It's fine," she halted him quickly, "I can go, I remember the way, and I'll be quick. You stay and do whatever you need to do around here."

"If you're sure…"

"I'm sure."

Hearing her phone vibrating on the bedside table, Jaz grabbed it and saw a text from Preach. She immediately began typing out a reply with a smile on her face, causing Adam to question her.

"Is there someone I should be jealous of this early in the morning?"

Chuckling, Jaz looked over at him as soon as she put her phone back down, "It's just Preach checking on me. He texts me every few days. I should be the one checking on him, but he always beats me to it."

"Yeah, that's Preach for you."

"Speaking of someone you should be jealous of; I need to say good morning to Cassiopeia. She'll miss us when we go camping."

"She's a fish, she'll survive."

"Can I remind you, that it was _you_ who bought me that fish."

"And I've regretted it ever since."

That was a lie and they both knew it. He had loved every single moment of happiness that he had seen cross Jaz's face since bringing the fish home. But he also loved teasing her. And that wasn't going to stop any time soon.

* * *

In the early afternoon, Adam was busy doing some minor repairs around the cabin. He had some plans in the future to extend the cabin, but that was not a job for this leave. Not when he had Jaz living here with him. Not when, given their jobs and the idiosyncrasies that came with it, he couldn't guarantee what his situation, their situation, and their living situation, would be in the future.

While he tried not to dwell on that for the moment, it was the truth. But they had made a promise to live in the moment and make every moment count. They were Preach's words and very wise ones at that, and given everything their job had exposed them to and made them susceptible to, they were appreciably taking them on board.

Hearing his truck approach the cabin, he walked around from the back to see Jaz pull up out front. He had had no doubt that she would have found her way to and from town with no worries. Given the elite level of their team, her spatial awareness was exceptional, but he still liked to know that she was back in one piece.

She jumped out the driver's seat as soon as she parked and opened up the back door. He made his way over to help with any bags she might have had and before he knew it, a big ball of fluff was bounding towards him with his tail wagging enthusiastically.

"Patton!" Adam exclaimed in surprise as he sat on the ground to accept the licks to his face that Patton was eager to deliver.

Jaz stood and watched the reunion with a big smile on her face.

Adam looked up at her, "Sneaky. You and Preach had this all planned out, huh?"

Jaz shrugged, "Preach put him on a plane first thing this morning. It was time for him to come home. Although by the look of him, Preach's girls have been spoiling him."

"Sure looks that way." Adam laughed, rubbing Patton's belly and he lay on the floor next to him.

"How you doing, buddy? Enjoyed getting pampered in SoCal I bet. Back to roughing it out here though, how you gonna cope?"

Jaz smiled watching Adam chatter away to Patton. It had been one of the indications to all of them that their CO had a soft side; when they had all watched him give in to the dog that followed him around base like a… well, like a puppy. He had tried to be cavalier about it all, pretending to be annoyed with the dog's presence, but they had all caught him slipping Patton snacks and pats and when he then took up residence on one of their couches, they knew their leader was done for.

She went and sat on the front step of the cabin and as if remembering she was there, Patton sat back up and trotted over to sit with her.

While she stroked him, Adam joined her on the step.

"You surprised me."

"Not for the first time."

"Definitely not. Hopefully not for the last."

Jaz smiled slowly at him, "We'll see."

Adam grinned back at her before leaning over to press his lips to her shoulder. Then to her neck. And then finally to her lips, letting them linger there the longest. It was a kiss of thanks and of appreciation. He could have kept kissing her if Patton hadn't chosen that moment to climb in between them both, sniffing them both and licking Adam's face.

Looking at him in amusement, they both laughed out loud, "He didn't waste any time getting comfortable again," Adam said wryly.

"He's home." Jaz just said simply, giving Patton a scratch. "Let's go and introduce him to Cass."

With an exasperated eye roll, Adam stood up to follow Jaz, agilely dodging the jab she directed at his shoulder. She had seen his eye roll, and with one of her own, she stalked into the cabin with Patton at her feet.

Adam was getting the distinct feeling he was going to be outnumbered in everything while they were all together again. Patton had already re-affirmed his attachment to Jaz, and honestly, Adam couldn't be happier.

* * *

They took Patton on a walk later in the afternoon to let him really stretch his legs after being on a plane all morning. He was in his element, trotting along in front of them, eager to reacquaint himself with all the familiar scents and constantly turning around to check on them, making sure they were within sight and still following along.

Adam and Jaz walked the track hand-in-hand, watching Patton ahead of them.

Adam was so appreciative of Jaz's gesture to get Patton back to them so quickly. He would have organised it with Preach eventually, but the surprise was amazing.

That dog had grown on him. When he first appeared on base, he took an instant liking to Dalton and their Quonset hut. Dalton threw a few food scraps his way every now and then and Patton sealed his loyalty right there and then. He was always around when the team came back to base after a mission with his tail wagging, eager to greet them. It wasn't until Dalton was up in the middle of the night, not able to sleep after a particularly gruelling mission, and saw Patton curled up asleep on one of their couches, that he really accepted that the dog had become theirs. His.

It was then that Dalton gave him his name and sat on that couch with him scratching behind his ears, as that particular mission ran over and over in his head. Sensing Dalton's unease, Patton had curled up next to him and his steady breathing, company and warmth had enabled Dalton to fall asleep right there on the couch, allowing him some much needed rest.

The rest of the team saw this as they woke in the morning. They crept around, knowing that Dalton needed the rest in whatever way he could get it. Of course, that didn't stop McG taking a photo of their CO on his phone as photographic evidence for future use, if needed.

They stopped walking as they arrived at a view point that Adam had taken Jaz to on one of her first days at the cabin. The view was absolutely spectacular, and it was just as breathtaking as the first time. It had Jaz eager to go on their camping trip tomorrow to see as much of these mountains as she could.

* * *

Back at the cabin later on, Adam dug out the gear they would need on their camping trip tomorrow. Sleeping bags, tent, trangia, methylated spirits, matches, fishing rods, fishing paraphernalia and a few more bits and pieces.

Jaz threw a few extra pieces of clothing and toiletries into her already packed go-bag. They were only going for two nights so she didn't need too much stuff. These Blue Ridge Mountains contained a plethora of swimming possibilities though, so she threw in one of her one piece suits just in case, then she also packed her new bikini. The one that Adam hadn't seen yet. Just in case.

They put together some food supplies, and Jaz made sure there was some chocolate packed, given they were now overflowing with the sweet stuff. And they of course made sure that there was food that Patton could eat too, since he would of course be joining them.

* * *

Following dinner later that night, they sat out on the back veranda with Patton curled up at Adam's feet when their phones simultaneously chimed indicating an incoming message. It was Amir with a picture of his cooking.

 _ **Shakshouka for dinner, always a winner**_ – Amir

 _ **Oh man, you're killing me**_ – McG

 _ **Hannah is a lucky woman**_ – Preach

Jaz scrolled through her phone and selected one of the many photos she had taken of Cassiopeia to send to the group.

 _ **Check out my new housemate**_ – Jaz

 _ **How very domestic of you. Don't kill it, Jazzy**_ – McG

* _ **middle finger emoji***_ \- Jaz

 _ **Speaking of housemates, my girls are missing Patton**_ – Preach

 _ **Time to get them a dog**_ – Top

 _ **I feel like a cash register**_ – Preach

 _ **Well maybe if you weren't such a pushover, Preach, it wouldn't be an**_ _**issue**_ – Top

 _ **Well let's see you have kids and how you do against those doe eyes staring up at**_ _**you**_ – Preach

 _ **He's bad enough with Patton**_ – Jaz

 _ **Are we having the kids talk already? WTF have I missed?**_ – McG

Adam and Jaz laughed, rolling their eyes at McG at the same time.

 _ **Calm down. Just FYI, Jaz and I will be off the grid camping for the next couple of days**_ – Top

 _ **Enjoy**_ – Preach

 _ **What? That's it, Preach?**_ – McG

 _ **That's all that needed to be said**_ – Preach

 _ **Disappointing**_ – McG

 _ **Enjoy you two**_ – Amir

 _ **Stay safe. In every sense of the word**_ – McG.

 _ **McG, nothing will bring you greater peace than minding your own business**_ – Preach

 _ **Of course you have something to say to that**_ – McG

 _ **Talk to you all soon!**_ – Jaz

Jaz giggled as she put her phone down. Adam just rolled his eyes at her. McG and Preach could banter back and forth for an eternity. And while it was often entertaining, it could _literally_ go on for an eternity, and they were going to have an early night tonight since they planned on getting an early start tomorrow morning.

They were going to spend that night in separate rooms. Their first night apart since Adam had confessed his feelings to her, and their first night apart since being back at the cabin. They knew they needed to practice this, and given that the following two nights would be spent together in the small confines of a tent, this was a good opportunity. And even though they knew they would only be separated by a bedroom wall, and even though it would only be one night, neither of them were looking forward to it.

An hour later after another beer on the veranda, they made their way inside to get ready for their early night.

Jaz was gathering her things in Adam's room to take to the guest room, but he surprised her when he said, "You stay in this room tonight. I'll take the guest room."

"But this is your room." Jaz said surprised.

"That's just a technicality. You'll be more comfortable in here."

"So will you."

Adam moved to stand in front of her. Leaning down to kiss her forehead softly and brushing her hair back from her shoulders, he let his hands rest there.

"Don't argue. I've made my decision."

With a raise of her eyebrows and a wry smile on her face, she answered him, "Sure thing, Top."

He chuckled at the reference—because he couldn't remember the last time she had called him Top—and then captured her lips with his own in a kiss goodnight. Lingering there, he held her close, pressing his lips to hers, knowing that even though he would be right next door, he would miss her every second he was without her.

She pulled him close, her hands gripping onto his t-shirt to hold him there, still not letting go as he lifted his head to take a step back. She stood on her tiptoes to chase his lips with hers, laughing as they found their target, her grip becoming even tighter.

Indulging in the kiss a few moments longer, he eventually pulled the t-shirt over his head and handed it to her to sleep in. It was one of his army t-shirts—one of her favourites, and she knew it would smell of him in all his masculine goodness.

"Sweet dreams, Jaz." He whispered as he walked out of the room, leaving her to slip into the t-shirt and hop into bed.

She couldn't deny that the scent of his t-shirt combined with the warmth of his bed made her feel super comfortable and at ease. Knowing that he was right next door left her feeling content and she thankfully slipped into a deep slumber, sleeping the whole night through.

* * *

On the other side of that wall, Adam managed to get some sleep too. It wasn't as restful as when he had Jaz in his arms and her warmth snuggled up to him, but knowing she was really only metres away certainly helped.

He woke up early though and lay there mentally checking through everything in his head for their camping trip. Like any mission they went on, he liked to be prepared and he had a couple of surprises for Jaz along the way that he hoped she liked.

After a little while, he sat up and reached for the notebook that Jaz had bought him. It couldn't be more perfect with the saying "Does not play well with others" on the front and he smiled at it as he opened it up.

Xander had recommended that he write stuff down. Anything that came to mind. Anything that troubled him or excited him. Anything that he lost sleep over, or woke him up, or was worried about. Just… anything.

He thought he'd start it off with writing about how thrilled he was to be taking Jaz camping. He loved camping, and he loved these mountains. Getting the chance to share even more of that with Jaz, the woman he loved, made him happy. More than happy. He was fucking elated. He couldn't have found a more perfect woman to share this with and he couldn't wait to get moving.

Just as he was finishing up and he thought about going to wake Jaz up, his door creaked open from where he had left it ajar overnight and Jaz's sleepy face and giant mane of bed hair looked back at him.

He put the notebook back on the bedside table and looked at her questioningly.

"I slept well." She confirmed for him.

"Get over here." He beckoned and lifted the covers up. She slid right in next to him, lay a hand on his chest and kissed him.

"I missed you though."

"I missed you too." He whispered against her lips.

Before she knew it, she was rolled onto her back and he lay on top of her, his hips already cradled in between her thighs. He was already hard and with a shared glimmer in their eyes, they knew exactly how this morning was going to start.

"You were writing in your book. Did I interrupt?" She asked him coyly.

"Yes. But you can make it up to me." He answered with a smile and he buried his head in the crook her neck, pressing his warm, soft lips to the smoothness of her skin. Feeling it instantly light on fire, she couldn't hold back a moan as her mind drained of all thoughts except for ones of Adam, and what he was capable of making her feel.

"Oh yeah, how's that?" She just managed to ask, even though the ability to speak seemed somewhat foreign to her at the moment.

Blazing his lips up and down her neck, he let them linger near her ear and whispered barely audibly, "By letting me taste you."

Jaz shivered in anticipation and he threaded his hands through her hair, continuing to make love to her neck with his mouth. Flames of heat were licking at her core, and she raised her hips against his to try to ease the ache between her legs.

Eager hands tugged at her clothing, lifting his army t-shirt she had worn to bed to palm her breasts, her nipples standing to attention under his callous roughened hands and his mouth slanted over hers in a deep and hungry kiss.

In two seconds flat the t-shirt was removed, as were her underwear, and he slid down her body. He spread her legs apart and hummed in approval when his gaze fell on her glistening folds.

"You're so wet," he muttered, sweeping his thumb over her, watching as her juice coated her entire slit.

She moaned when his lips closed over her clit. He suckled gently and her hips shot off the bed, eager for more of whatever his mouth had to offer. He kissed his way down to her opening, his tongue darting out to dip into the moisture there, and another flick of his thumb on her clit made her entire body jerk in reaction.

Jaz shifted restlessly on the bed. She was a bundle of nerves, ready to explode at the slightest provocation, and Adam knew exactly what she needed. His mouth found her sensitive bud again, licking it fervently as he slid two fingers inside her and pumped them in time to the movements of his tongue.

She came quickly with a soft cry, instinctively grabbing his hair to keep his head in place, trying to prolong the pleasure. It wasn't enough though, she needed him inside of her.

Reading her mind, Adam wasted no time crawling up her body and positioning himself between her thighs. He kissed her, nice and slow, his tongue entering her mouth skilfully and hungrily. Whimpering, Jaz wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed her breasts against his strong, muscular chest. He groaned in response, then reached down and cupped one breast, rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

"I love feeling you underneath me." He admitted.

"I need you inside of me, Adam." She replied roughly and she slipped her hand between them, grasped his cock and guided it to exactly where she needed it to be. He slid in slowly, an inch at a time, pleasure darkening his gaze once he was fully inside of her. Jaz closed her eyes and rotated her hips, loving the way her muscles stretched to accommodate his length.

He began to thrust slowly and her inner muscles bore down on him and her core tingled with each stroke. They both groaned and Adam's voice was strained as he whispered, "You're so tight, Jaz. You feel so good."

"I need you so badly, Adam."

Those six words gave him the incentive to withdraw nearly completely, before slamming back into her with a deep, hard thrust that made her cry out in delight. Her hands drifted down to clamp onto his ass, guiding him into her as he moved in earnest, his lips finding hers as his tongue mimicked his cock.

Each hurried thrust brought her closer to the brink again. She fought to keep her eyes open so she could watch his face and his expression. His blue eyes were hazy and gorgeous and hid neither his emotions or his passion.

Seeing his raw need reflected so clearly in his eyes was all it took to send her toppling over the edge. Her orgasm seized her muscles and surged through her veins, leaving bursts of ecstasy in its wake as it travelled through her body.

Adam's mouth stayed glued to hers when he came, and she swallowed his moan of release, stroking his back as he shuddered inside her.

"Fuck, Jaz." Sounding blissful and sated, he eased his muscular chest down so he could rest his head on her breasts.

"Mmhmm," was all she could manage, stroking his hair as he was draped over her, his warm breath tickling her nipple.

They lay there, getting their breath back. Jaz loved these moments with Adam. This masculine soldier, who she had admired and respected for so long, rarely let down his guard. But when it was just the two of them, like this, he allowed himself to… just be. And she knew she did the same.

"I love you," she whispered, her fingers still raking through his dark blond hair.

"I love you too." He finally lifted his head and moved up to kiss her lips softly and gently. The intimacy they shared made their hearts thud in unison as they lay in each other's arms, wondering if they would have the energy to even get out of bed that morning.

* * *

 **I thought it was about time that Patton re-joined them. They're a cute little family.**

 **Like I said, this was a bit of a filler chapter, I just wanted to get Patton back into it. The next couple of chapters are about their camping trip.**

 **I'll be overseas for the next couple of weeks, but I have the next three chapters written. When I'm back I will just need to edit and then I'll post.**

 **Thanks so much for continuing to read, support and comment on this story - Much love as always to you all XXX**


	46. Chapter 46

**I'm back and posting slightly later than expected - but here it is.**

 **Thank you for all the lovely comments on the previous chapter. I really appreciated them, especially considering it was just a bit of a filler, but you all seemed as happy to have Patton back as I did.**

 **This chapter begins their camping adventure :)**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's character... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 46**

"Try not to miss me too much, I'll only be gone for a couple of days."

Adam watched in amusement as Jaz said goodbye to Cassiopeia before they left for their camping trip. The truck was packed ready to go and Jaz had just put a slow feeder into Cass' bowl.

"We're only going to be gone for two nights."

Jaz looked up, "What if she does something cool while we're gone?"

Adam raised his eyebrows, "Like learn to swim?"

She threw the empty slow feeder packet at him, "Shut up."

He laughed as he ducked and held up his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay. Remind me to set up surveillance on her bowl the next time we leave."

This time she strode towards him, ready to pop him one in the shoulder, but he caught her fists before she had the chance and pulled her close instead. Grinning at the look of determination in her eyes, he held her even tighter, knowing that Jaz would be able to get out of this hold easily if she wanted to.

Fighting back her own smile, she said through gritted teeth, "Stop teasing me."

"I thought you like it when I tease you."

"Depends what it's about."

"Is that right?"

"Uh huh."

With a quick thought she moved her mouth close to his, her lips brushing softly and lightly against his own, feeling them start to respond to her. She felt his hands relax their grip on hers and as soon as they did, she twisted herself out of his clasp and gave him that punch to shoulder, though not nearly as hard as she was capable of.

Feigning pain, he scowled, "Okay, I see how it is."

"Don't get between me and my pet."

"Noted." But he couldn't hide a small smile. He loved that she loved the pet he had bought her. He loved seeing this side of Jaz. But he also really wanted to leave for this trip together.

"Finish up your goodbyes. We move out in five mikes."

She saluted him with her middle finger and he just chuckled as he went to put Patton in the truck.

Another thing he loved about her—about them—was that despite the elevation of their personal relationship, the easy friendship and teasing of each other that they had previously enjoyed, hadn't stopped or changed. It was what had made the rapport between them so easy and where the attraction began. He never wanted to lose that.

* * *

It was an hour's drive to the spot Adam wanted to camp at. It was a place he had been numerous times alone, but this time he wanted to share it with Jaz.

Parking the truck, they grabbed all the gear they needed before a short fifteen-minute walk to the camping spot.

With Adam leading the way and Patton trotting along next to him, Jaz couldn't help but be amazed as the forest they were walking through all of a sudden gave way to a small clearing overlooking a huge, blue lake. The sun light reflected off it, turning it into a mirror and the trees surrounding its entire edge were large enough and leafy enough to provide a considerable amount of shade.

Not another person was in sight, which made Adam happy. He had never had any other company at this particular spot, and he was relieved that Jaz was about to be the first. He wanted this spot all to themselves.

Turning to look at her, he could tell that she was in awe of the beauty of this location. Her eyes were wide and she was just walking around taking in every piece of the scenery. He understood that look. When he had first found this spot, quite a few years ago, he wondered if it was paradise. The lake provided an instant feeling of tranquillity and the peace he felt when he was here, was hard to compare to anything else.

"What do you think?" He asked as he held his arms open wide, indicating to their surroundings.

Jaz quickly wiped the look of awe off her face and shrugged nonchalantly, "I mean it's ok… if you like water… and trees… and… nature."

Adam rolled his eyes, "And of course you don't like any of those things."

"Guess I'll just have to suck it up for the next couple of days, huh?"

"Well it's going to be a long couple of days with all the fishing and swimming that I had planned."

"Swimming huh? Good job I packed a bikini." Jaz smirked as she watched his eyes darken with lust and his tongue lick his lower lip in anticipation.

He could feel himself grow hard just picturing Jaz in a bikini. He had no resolve where she was concerned. Swallowing and shaking his head to get himself back under control, he pointed in the opposite direction of the lake, "Five minutes that way is a public toilet block, for when you need to… uh… escape nature."

Not that that bothered her, considering the situations they often found themselves in on missions, but it was still a sweet gesture that he had factored that in to his planning.

"Meh, I guess that'll do." Then she smiled at him, the gleam in her eye indicating her real thoughts towards this location. It was stunning. Absolutely stunning. And she couldn't think of a better spot to spend a couple of days alone with Adam Dalton. And Patton.

* * *

They decided to set up camp before doing anything else.

They erected a small two-man tent, but Jaz frowned when she watched Adam moving their bags inside of it.

"There won't be room for us to sleep with our bags in there."

"Actually, this tent is just for our bags, to keep them covered up and the food away from any scavengers in the area."

"Then where are we going to sleep?" Jaz asked, confused.

Adam picked up what looked like a rolled up tent, "In this, it's called a swag."

"A swag?"

"Yeah. I worked with a couple of Australian SAS members in a crossover mission in Kabul a few years back. One guy, Mick, shared my interest in the stars. He told me about this type of tent that are popular in Australia. Basically it's a cross between a small tent and a sleeping bag, with a built in mattress inside. It zips all the way up so it covers your head, but there are zips on either side, so the canvas on top can be rolled down, leaving a layer of mesh. You can see the stars through the mesh. You literally sleep under the stars. Without the bugs."

Jaz liked the sound of that. Star gazing was another hobby that Adam had introduced to her.

"It looks kind of small." She observed as Adam was setting it up.

"This a two-man swag, so you can imagine how small a one-man swag is. No bigger than an individual sleeping bag really. We'll definitely be cosy in this though. Hope you don't mind sharing."

She smiled when he winked at her. She did not have a problem with being cosy with Adam Dalton.

Not in the slightest.

* * *

It was a hot day, so fishing in the river seemed like the perfect way to spend some of the day.

Adam set up camp chairs on the shore of the lake and they sat there happily, under the shade of the large surrounding trees, passing the time and catching their dinner.

He couldn't remember being happier.

Here in these Blue Ridge Mountains, passing time with his favourite hobby, surrounded by nature in all its beauty and sitting alongside the most perfect woman in the world—did life get any better than this?

Looking over at Jaz, he couldn't help but muse on the last three years that she had been in his life. If you had of told him three years ago, that the head strong, stubborn, but highly skilled sniper that was new to his team, would be the woman that he would fall in love with, he wouldn't have believed it.

She was beautiful—that had been instantly obvious—but he hadn't let himself get caught up in it. He didn't want her to ever feel like she was a token on the team, like she only had her spot for some political correctness. Because that just wasn't true. She was the best person for the job, plain and simple. Her record spoke for itself.

She had come with a chip on her shoulder, and for the most part he understood that. Being a female in the military was already hard, but being a female who was more competent at her role than any male, than any other person full stop, had ruffled a few feathers along the way. Her file was exemplary, but she had moved around a lot. It was obvious that her prior teams hadn't appreciated her skill, purely based on her gender, and he was determined to be the exception.

But that's not to say her beauty hadn't been noticed. It had. And it was the kind that grew on you and then continued to get noticed over and over again. But only when he let himself, only when it hadn't gotten in the way of a mission. Mostly.

His entire team were exceptional, but her skills as a sniper were second to none. She was superior to every other person taking the same shot, and she continued to hone that skill. Her dedication to this job had impressed him for the very first moment and that alone had him suppressing any other feelings that had arisen over the years.

Until it had just become too difficult to do so.

Until it began to play on his mind.

And until fighting it became harder than acknowledging it.

Jaz was a part of him now. She had been an integral part of the last three years and he couldn't even remember what his life was like without her.

* * *

Jaz sat with a fishing rod in her hand, perched on a camp chair next to the lake and couldn't help but just bask in the serenity of her surroundings.

These Blue Ridge Mountains just spoke to her and with her new found hobby, soaking up this amazing setting and sitting alongside the best person she had ever met, she wondered if life could get any better?

Sneaking a look over at Adam, she couldn't help but reflect on the last three years that he had been in her life. If you had of told her three years ago, that the proud, sarcastic, and best leader she had ever come across, would be the man she would fall in love with, she wouldn't have believed you.

He was extremely handsome and attractive, that had been instantly obvious, but she hadn't let herself get caught up in it. She had put her head down and just concentrated on doing her job to the level she knew she was capable of.

She became best friends with Elijah, became close to everyone on the team, and she never, ever felt like a female in their unit. She was just another member of the team, chosen because she was the best person for the job. That's how this whole team was chosen.

Her level of respect for this team was high, but for her Captain, it was second to none. He never questioned her ability or her position on this team and he was the only CO she had ever had that didn't look at her and see a woman first. And when he had told her that he may not see it, but he doesn't forget it because he knew that getting where she was had been harder for her than he would ever understand—her level of respect for him had gone sky high.

That level of respect that she had for him and his level of integrity only made him even more attractive in her eyes, and that along with his blatant masculinity had been noticed over and over again. But only when she let herself, only when it hadn't gotten in the way of a mission. Mostly.

Her appreciation for her position on this team, the actual people on this team and the feeling that she had finally landed where she was meant to be, had her suppressing any other feelings that had arisen over the years.

Until it had just become too difficult to do so.

Until it began to play on her mind.

And until fighting it became harder than acknowledging it.

Adam was a part of her now. He had been a significant part of the last three years and she couldn't even remember what her life was like without him.

* * *

With a few fish in the cool box for dinner, they went on a quick hike so that Adam could show Jaz some of the surrounding area. It was denser than the area encompassing his cabin, but it's beauty left Jaz awestruck.

Patton as always trotted along next to them, delighting in all the new smells and trails for him to explore and for Jaz and Adam, it felt so right having him there with them.

When they got back to the camp site, the late afternoon's heat and their bout of physical activity left them with virtually no other option that to take a swim in the inviting lake. It beckoned to them, and their love for the water, and _each other_ in the water made it an easy decision.

Knowing that she had packed her new bikini, put a glint in Jaz's eye as she got changed. Adam was already in the lake, having just stripped down to his boxers right there on the shore, and he had charged into the lake with Patton right there by his side.

Watching him stop dead as he was playing with Patton when he saw her come out of the tent, made her both smirk and flush.

By now, Adam thought he should be used to the sight of Jaz in a bikini. He felt like a teenage boy every time he was reduced to this bumbling mess, but the vision of her still made him speechless. And hard.

He hadn't seen this bikini before; she must have bought it when they were in town the other day, but it couldn't be more perfect. It was a halter neck top, emphasising the swell of her perfect breasts and he licked his lips at the sight of them. The bottoms had a thick band holding them up, but sat high on her hips, accentuating her long, tanned and toned legs and he couldn't help but picture them wrapped around his waist as she strode out to meet him.

The part that made this bikini so perfect was the print. Predominantly khaki in colour, it was a camouflage print, similar to the one they wore on their uniforms and he couldn't help but grin at Jaz wearing an army print bikini. It combined all the best parts of her. Her incredible talents as a soldier, and her inconceivable beauty as a woman. It was perfect, and so was she.

As she stopped in front of him, he swallowed against the lump in his throat and the desire in his veins.

"New bikini?" He asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but feeling nonplussed.

"Yep." She answered simply.

A grin spread across her face as she watched his composure quickly collapse and heard the growl in his throat as he reached out to grab her, lift her so her legged were wrapped around his waist and kissed her, devouring her, as if his life depended on it.

His strong hands were everywhere and hers held on tight to him as the flood of feelings attacking every one of her senses overtook her body. As always, they lost themselves in each other and their swim became much more than that.

A hell of a lot more than that.

* * *

The fish they had caught earlier in the day was a tasty dinner as Adam cooked them over a campfire along with a few other things they had packed for their trip.

Jaz took great delight in producing a packet of marshmallows to toast over the fire to make one of their favourite snacks—s'mores. This was often a treat they made on base, a lot of the time following missions and she couldn't help but smile at the moment they found themselves in. Did it get any more clichéd than s'mores around the camp fire after a hearty dinner you had caught yourself, while sitting under the giant canvas of stars above them? Whatever the answer, she didn't care. Months ago, she would have scoffed and rolled her eyes at clichés, but now, even though she would probably never admit it to anyone, it was kind of nice.

Dalton was thinking the same thing to himself. All the years he had been camping, all the years he had done this solo, he had enjoyed every minute. These solitary trips had always been the way he had recharged and detoxed himself from the ravages of war; from everything they saw and dealt with while trying to keep the world a better place.

But now, sharing all of this with Jaz—his home, his hobbies, his life—he couldn't imagine it any other way. And as for sharing his heart, that was the real game changer here, and he wouldn't change that for anything.

* * *

Jaz lay there in awe. They had crawled into the swag after a long day of fishing, hiking, swimming and other tiring _activities_. After Adam had zipped the roof back, leaving just the mesh, the two of them just stared at the vast sky above full of glittering stars.

The clear night made for a chilly evening, but laying there side-by-side in the closeness of the swag kept them warm. Jaz couldn't imagine a better way to camp, with mother nature's beauty making this night and this trip, all the more magical.

"Remind me which one is Cassiopeia."

Adam looked at her sideways, "Is that the only constellation you care about now?"

"No, but I wasn't paying attention the first time you pointed it out to me." She admitted.

"What?"

"I was, umm, distracted. By you."

"Really?"

"Yes really. At first I thought you had had a little too much to drink, but I soon realised that you just had a genuine love for the stars. By the time I figured that out, I had already missed which stars you were pointing to."

Adam let a smile cross his face and reached out to hold her hand while they lay there, "It was a good night. You looked beautiful."

"What?" Jaz couldn't help but ask, echoing his own earlier question.

"That night, under the stars in Seville, I've never really shared them with anyone before. Sharing them with you felt right, and the fact that you looked amazing with your hair down and in a sexy black top, you're lucky I even remembered which constellation was which—not that it mattered it would seem."

Much the same as Adam a few moments earlier, a wide grin crossed Jaz's face. She had often wondered if she had imagined the electricity between them that night, and on a few other occasions actually. But that night had been perfect. She had loved getting to know more about him and the companionable silence they had fallen into afterwards, hadn't felt awkward at all.

"So you _were_ flirting with me?"

"We were flirting with each other." He gave her hand a quick squeeze before propping himself up on one elbow to look down at her, "Am I right?"

"No idea what you're talking about."

Jaz tried really hard to keep an innocent, straight face, but with Adam looking right through her, knowing she was lying, she ended up laughing out loud before he could even respond.

Watching her laughing was like watching a sunrise, and he wanted to embrace that light. While she still laughed, he leaned down and kissed her, stopping her laughing and instantly reacting to his closeness.

Adam moved his lips over hers, moulding them to her lips and pinning her down. He ran his tongue over her lower lip and hers opened to give him access to her mouth. He massaged her tongue with his own and she tasted of the sweetness of the s'mores.

She moved a hand to the back of his head, threading her fingers through his hair to hold him close. The kiss deepened as they both tilted their heads, their mouths glued together, tasting each other in long, slow and deliberate strokes.

They were breathing hard when they pulled away to catch their breath. The swag didn't afford them much physical space, but with the night sky shining above them, it felt like they had all the space in the world.

With their foreheads resting against each other, Adam ran his hand up her side and brushed the side of her breast softly, whispering against her lips, "I want to make love to you under the stars, Jaz."

His words made her shiver, but not from cold, "I really want that too."

She pulled his head back down to unite their lips again and continued to shiver as his hand moved up to her shoulder to pull the strap of her tank top down. Freeing her breast, he took its softness into his hand, feeling her erect nipple rub against his palm. He massaged it and kneaded it, hearing her moans deep in the back of her throat as his lips never left hers.

Giving the same attention to her other perfect breast, he felt her grip on the back of his head tighten, and knowing that she needed more, he left his hand wander lower, gliding smoothly over her flat stomach, leaving tingles everywhere he touched.

Feeling bold, she grabbed his hand and moved it under her shorts, showing him exactly where she needed him. He liked this boldness; he liked that she knew what she wanted. As his fingers instantly found her clit he felt it pulsate beneath his touch and Jaz moaned out in desire, "Fuck."

He liked this response from her, he liked how all her inhibitions fell away when they were together like this. He stroked her clit up and down slowly, feeling her spread her legs further apart for more access.

All of a sudden she sat up and quickly discarded her clothing not enjoying the restriction between them since they were already lacking in space. He did the same and then quickly placed his fingers back on her, using her own juice to glide his fingers all up and down her slit.

She reached out for his already hard cock, flat against his stomach and wrapped her small hand around it. She pumped him slowly, running her thumb across the sensitive tip, earning her own "Fuck," from his mouth as she spread the bead of moisture already present there up and down his length.

His fingers started to make circles around her sensitive nub and her hips began to move in the same matter as if dancing together. His lips found their way to her nipples, sucking hard and causing fireworks to spread from her nipple all the way to her core. She was practically dripping, and as she pumped her hand on him in time to the rhythm he was playing her, she knew she needed him inside her—right now.

Upon telling him so, he wasted no time in sliding on top of her and in sliding inside of her and they both groaned at the feeling of joining together.

"You feel amazing." He couldn't help but moan, never getting enough of how incredible this felt.

"So do you." She whispered hoarsely in his ear, lifting her hips to feel him slide even deeper inside of her.

They may have been in a confined space but it only added to the intimacy of the moment, and as they began to thrust against each other, the cold night air only added to the exhilaration.

Their bodies undulated with each other, fitting together as perfectly as always. Adam buried his face in the crook of Jaz's neck and their movement's together had his beard scraping against the hypersensitive sweet spot, adding to the overall stimulation. They moved faster and faster gripping each other tightly, grateful for the solitude as their moans only became louder as their bodies let go with earth shattering orgasms.

They rode out the waves of pleasure together, and as Adam rolled off Jaz, he brought her with him, pulling her against his chest, to hold her tight. They lay there panting, sweat glistening on their still warm bodies, the night air helping to cool them down.

As they tried to get their breath back, they both looked up at the dark night sky and the gleaming stars, remembering the first time they had sat under the stars together.

Lifting a hand to point to a particular constellation, guiding Jaz's gaze, he whispered "Okay so these five right here, that's Cassiopeia. She was a vain queen. Never allowed to set below the surface of the ocean. Apparently she pissed off Poseidon, insulted a few sea nymphs."

"Vain queen? I still feel like that's some kind of message."

She felt his shoulders shake with laughter beneath her head, "Well, if the shoe fits."

She couldn't help but laugh along with him and couldn't be happier at how they had progressed since the last time he had given her that explanation. This time she was determined to remember which constellation was which and made a mental note to ask him about more in the future.

Laying in each other's arms, a feeling of contentedness and peace washing over them both, Adam pulled her even closer to press his lips to her forehead. There, underneath the stars, both still naked as the day they were born, they fell into a deep sleep, both of them feeling more peaceful than they could ever remember feeling.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter continues with their camping trip.**

 **A massive THANK YOU to you all for continuing to read this story, especially since it has been over a year since this incredible show was cancelled. You are all appreciated so much and big love to those of you who comment. The motivation they provide is second to none.**

 **Much love and have a great week! XXX**


	47. Chapter 47

**Happy weekend! Hope it's a lovely one for you all. Here is the next chapter and it's a continuation of their camping trip. As always you might need to re-read the previous chapter as a reminder, since I haven't posted in two weeks - Sorry!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 47**

The top of the swag was still open when Dalton woke in the morning. It was early, but the open swag provided no shelter from the sun and the sunlight had conditioned his body to be awake.

His body was spooned around Jaz's, and they were both still naked from the night before. It was a good job that this camp site was secluded, otherwise it would make for a very awkward morning.

"No one can see us, right?"

If Dalton was wondering if Jaz was awake, there was his answer. Lifting his head slightly to look through the mesh, he made sure that there was no one else around, for both their peace of minds.

"Just you, me, Patton and Mother Nature."

"Well I hope Mother Nature doesn't mind the nudity."

Dalton laughed into her hair, where his head lay buried in the nape of her neck, "Pretty sure she's a fan."

Jaz rolled over so they were laying facing each other, his arm still around her waist, and when she shivered slightly he pulled her even closer.

"Cold?"

She didn't answer, she just pressed herself as close to him as possible, which given their lack of clothing, ensured an instantaneous reaction from his body. However, feeling her hard nipples against his chest, he knew he wasn't the only one.

He slid a hand down her back until it rested on her firm, smooth behind and pressed it against him, trying to sooth the ache in his groin. This woman had an effect on him that he had never experienced before. He wasn't complaining, it just still took his breath away.

She rocked her hips against his, encouraged by the pressure he was still placing on her lower back and she gasped feeling how hard he was against her stomach.

Gripping his strong shoulder, she kissed him fervently, pressing herself as close to him as she possible could, so that every goose bump blended with his, surprising him with the immediate intensity of her lips and mouth on his. He kissed her back just as ardently, heavily turned on by her feistiness, their location and her absolutely perfect body.

Their skin transformed from goose bumps to smouldering in a split second. Knowing exactly what they both needed, he lifted her leg to hook around his hip, lined himself up with her opening and thrust up and into her in one deep, powerful movement.

Their groan was simultaneous as they paused momentarily in appreciation of the immediate pleasure they were both feeling. They didn't need any foreplay this morning, they just needed the relief. And relief is what they got as they moved together frantically and furiously. Their need was raw, layered with primitive desire and they both came quickly and loudly, so damn glad that no one else was within ear shot.

Their bodies were coated in a film of sweat as they lay panting and gasping for breath. They were still joined together, clutching each other tightly, and even after making love so many times, they were still rendered speechless by the ferocity of their coupling.

"Do you think Mother Nature was a fan of that?"

"If she's into voyeurism, then sure."

They laughed, and exchanged a few more kisses, enjoying the tight confines of the swag. They could have easily fallen back asleep just then, lethargic with the release of oxytocin. But they wanted to make the most of this trip. After holding each other a bit longer, and just breathing each other in, Adam finally unzipped the mesh cover of the swag and they got ready for their day.

* * *

They moved out about half an hour later after having a quick breakfast and packing enough supplies in their back pack for lunch and hydration.

Adam was taking Jaz on a hike up a mountain today. It was rough with some steep terrain, but the view at the top would be worth it. He had hiked this mountain a few times before, and if Jaz hadn't been as fit as she was, he wouldn't have bothered. But their physical fitness was something that SOG7 prided themselves on, and it was paramount to fulfil the commitments of their job.

Jaz was one of the fittest people he knew. She was notorious for out-running and out-boxing all her teammates and it was just one of the things that had immediately impressed not just himself, but their entire team. Watching her flip McG on his ass in hand-to-hand combat was always especially amusing. It was just lucky that McG didn't have an ego, because that could have put a serious dent in it. And when she did the exact same thing to guys twice her size and weight when they were out in the field, it was especially gratifying.

Adam led the way with Jaz and Patton close behind. Once again Patton took great delight in new terrain to explore, and every time they stopped for a drink of water, they made sure he had the same.

Jaz took photos along the way until the climb got steeper as they neared the top. This called for extreme concentration and manoeuvrability, and their hands needed to be free, leaving them as agile as possible. It was a tough climb, but she had been through worse. She knew that if it wasn't worth it, or if Adam hadn't thought she could make it, they wouldn't have bothered. Her fitness is something she prided herself on. She was dedicated to making sure her fitness and body were in tiptop condition, ready at all times to be able to perform any duty that her job required.

Patton had gone up ahead, and was already waiting for them at the top, but for those of them that only walked on two legs, it was a little tougher.

Adam turned around to check on Jaz, "You good?"

"I'd be better if I had two more legs."

"Need to stop?"

Jaz just looked up and glared at him.

"Of course not." He mumbled under his breath. He should have known better.

For that last twenty minutes of the climb, you could hear nothing but their deep breathing and occasional grunts as they traversed the tricky terrain. Each step was trod carefully and with precision and it felt like they were wearing weighted vests. Their lungs were screaming and they couldn't have attempted this without their intense training and their appreciation of hard work.

Taking those last few precipitous steps, Adam reached the summit finally and turned around to monitor Jaz's progress. Already knowing that she was right behind him, he held out a hand to her, and immediately questioned his choice when he saw the daggers in her eyes. Rolling his eyes at her, he pulled his hand back and watched as she pulled herself up the last few steps until she was standing right in front of him.

"I don't need help." She stated, breathing raggedly.

"I know you don't."

"That's not what it looked like." She almost snapped.

"Jaz, I'm well aware of your capabilities."

"But you wouldn't do this if we were on base or on a mission."

"But we're not. That's the whole point of this. I know you don't _need_ my help, but I _want_ to help. Completely different."

Taking a few deep breaths, Jaz started to see his way of thinking. He was right. She just couldn't help but defend herself when her competence was being questioned. But she also knew that Adam would be the last person to question her competence. He was the one who had chosen her for his team after all. And he was the first person to see her strengths and not her gender.

She nodded to him, still slightly out of breath so whispering grudgingly, "You're right, I'm sorry."

He smiled wryly at her, "What was that, I thought I heard something?"

She couldn't help but chuckle, this all sounding too familiar, "I don't think anyone said anything."

They both smiled, remembering a very similar conversation from their last deployment. After a few more moments when her breathing was almost back to normal, she ditched her back pack and took a step towards him, "I'm sorry. It's just an automatic defence mechanism for me to get my back up when someone's questioning my capability."

Watching him open his mouth to defend himself, she quickly shut him down, "And I know you weren't doing that. This is different."

He looked her right in the eye, "This _is_ different, Jaz. I'm not your CO here. I'm your boyfriend."

Jaz couldn't help but laugh when he said that, and he looked at her questioningly, "Sorry, I'm just still getting used to that."

"Me too." He grabbed her hand and pulled her over to where the mountain top plateaued, "Now if we're done arguing, get over here and check out this view."

The view in front of them and surrounding them had Jaz lost for words. Dropping Adam's hand, she turned around slowly on the spot taking it all in from every angle. It was as if they were on the top of the world. Beneath them it seemed that the whole mountain range was in view. Every tree top, every stream, lake and body of water as far as the eye could see.

"Wow." Jaz breathed out in awe, looking at Adam in wonderment.

"Worth it right?"

She just nodded in amazement, her wide eyes still taking in as much as she could.

"Worth the argument too?"

Pulling her out of her reverie, she noticed the sardonic smile on his face, "You going to hold that against me all day?"

"No, but it's fun teasing you."

She pulled her phone back out of her pocket, "Good. In that case I've got some photos to take."

Adam just watched her as she wandered around the small clearing taking photos from every angle. He understood her wonderment. He had stumbled across this spot and had been equally breath taken, and it still never failed to leave him in awe. That was why he had come back several times, but this was the first time he had brought anyone with him.

They stayed up there for about an hour. They ate lunch and just enjoyed the view, before getting ready for the descent.

Standing to take in the amazing view one last time, Jaz smiled as Adam came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. Leaning back against him she enjoyed being in this incredible place with this incredible person.

"Thank you for bringing me here."

"You're welcome." Adam replied, kissing her temple and holding her close. There was so much he wanted to share with her, he was glad they had made it to this mountain top.

Pulling away, he asked if she was ready to go. She finally managed to tear herself away from the view, load up her back pack and start towards where Patton was already leading the way.

Adam held his hand out to her with a daring and amused look in his eye. With an equally amused but sarcastic smile, she made a big production of putting her hand in his so he could lead her down the mountain, and his loud and unrestrained laughter in response, echoed all around them.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon by the time they returned to their campsite and they were hot, bothered, sweaty and dirty.

Pre-empting their own thoughts, Patton sprinted for the lake and pounced into the cool water, instantly soothing his heated paws and causing Jaz and Dalton to laugh at his antics.

"He's got the right idea," Jaz laughed.

"Yeah, lucky mutt." Adam agreed, as he turned around to put his back pack down and crouched down to empty some of their left over food back into the ice box.

When he was done and he stood back up, Jaz was nowhere to be seen in close vicinity. He turned around when he heard her laughter; it was coming from the lake and when he looked up, there she was in the water with Patton.

When had she put her bikini on? She must have hiked in it. But when he saw her pile of clothes right there in front of him, underwear included, he looked up bewildered as he saw her grinning back at him.

What. The. Fuck.

Was Jaz Khan skinny dipping?

"Come on." She called out to him, "The water is amazing."

He was stunned, but before he knew it, he was stripping down right there and then, and striding into the water in his birthday suit.

Jaz greeted him with a cheeky smile, and he just questioned her, his face incredulous, "Skinny dipping?"

"I don't see you complaining."

"I've never skinny dipped before."

"Neither have I. But I've had a lot of firsts with you. Figured this could be another one." She shrugged in her matter-of-fact way.

"Well we sure are giving Mother Nature a show on this trip, huh?"

Jaz laughed. That big laugh of hers that took over her entire face with her lustrous mouth open wide and the sparkle in her eyes reflecting off the water. He loved that laugh.

He loved her.

* * *

Dinner that night was baked potatoes on the fire, with baked beans and cheese. It was a favourite of theirs on base, mostly because it was an easy dinner when they were too exhausted to cook anything else. It was also easy to make with their staples, which weren't always replenished as quickly as they could be with their sporadic schedule.

Amir wasn't the biggest fan to begin with, initially turning up his nose at this cuisine, but after a while, even he had admitted that after a long, tiring mission, it definitely hit the spot.

It was a beautiful clear evening, and the stars were putting on a show tonight. That clear sky came with a chill in the air though, and Jaz grabbed a sweater from her pack before sitting back down next to Adam.

"So which ones are Perseus, Andromeda and Cepheus?"

Adam smiled at her, "Come here." He pulled her over to sit between his legs. His knees were bent up to cradle her body and he pulled her back flush against his chest. She draped her arms over his knees and felt the warmth of his body flood through her.

He picked up one of her hands with his and using her index finger to point so her eyes could follow, he located the constellations and talked her through them.

Turns out Cepheus was married to Cassiopeia and they had a daughter, Andromeda. Cassiopeia was indeed a vein queen, and when she claimed to be more beautiful than the sea nymphs, Poseidon—God of the sea—flooded their home of Ethiopia and plagued it with a sea monster. Cepheus was told that the torment would cease if he exposed Andromeda to the monster, which he did. Perseus—son of Zeus—happened to be passing by and rescued Andromeda from the sea monster, fell in love with her and later married her.

Jaz nodded her head slowly, still looking skyward, taking this all in, "Now there are some definite contenders for our 'fucked up families anonymous' group."

Adam snorted, "They almost make ours look good, right?"

"Almost." Jaz just echoed quietly.

He held her close, wrapping his arms around her shoulders so they crossed in front of her and she brought a hand up to grip them, holding him just as close.

"How do you know so much about the stars?" She asked quietly, but curiously.

He paused before answering and she felt him take a deep breath.

"My Mom told me. She used to sit out on our back veranda most evenings. When I was young I didn't think much of it, but as I got older I realised it was to get away from my Dad when he was drunk. But she'd sit there just looking skyward and she'd tell me stories about all the constellations. She always seemed so happy in those moments so I'd go and sit with her whenever I could. She would say that the darkest nights produced the brightest stars and she would tell me that me and my sisters were her stars."

He paused and Jaz gripped his arm even tighter, knowing this wasn't easy for him to talk about.

"At the time, those words didn't really resonate with me. I thought it was just Mom, being a Mom. But since she passed away, it makes me angry, you know? Angry that she even needed to escape. Angry that my Dad made her feel that way. And sometimes angry at myself, for leaving them all as soon as I turned eighteen."

Jaz held him even tighter when she felt his body tremble slightly. She gripped onto his arms with both her hands and leaned her head all the way back against his chest. He lowered his head to rest his cheek on hers, her closeness helping to alleviate the pain he hadn't been expecting to feel.

He had never told anyone else what he had just told Jaz. There had never been anyone he had _wanted_ to share it with, and having held it in for so long, he was surprised at how emotional it made him feel.

The guilt he had felt at joining the army so young, hadn't come until much later. At the time he had counted down the days until his eighteenth birthday and packed his bags and skipped town as soon as he could. Jessie was gone by then and his Dad was in jail. Their life had changed dramatically in the two years since the accident, and Adam wanted an out. He needed a way to relieve that anger in him, and he had found that in the army. Fighting for his country gave him an outlet for his anger and grief. On occasions he had let it get the better of him, like in Fallujah in 2004. But with help from guys like his CSM at the time, Xander and in more recent years, Preach, he had learned to control that anger—mostly—and use it to his advantage.

But the guilt was always there, simmering below the surface. Guilt for leaving Sarah and Katie when they were still relatively young. Guilt for not being there for a lot of his Mom's treatment. Guilt for leaving so soon after her funeral. And guilt for not keeping in contact with his sisters as much as he should. That didn't even take into consideration the guilt he sometimes felt from some aspects of his job.

But like his Mom, the stars gave him some peace. And sharing them with Jaz, the way his Mom had shared them with him, brought him even more peace.

"You ok? You want to talk about it?" Jaz probed softly.

"I don't want to ruin our evening."

"Adam," she said twisting herself around in his arms to face him, "We decided that if we're going to do this, we would communicate. It doesn't matter if we're here or in the cabin, we're together. That won't change."

He looked into her eyes and knew she was right. They had promised to communicate, and they had promised Xander too. Pulling her even tighter against him, he began to tell her everything he had been thinking and under the stars couldn't have been a more appropriate setting.

* * *

"I can't remember how I used to clear my mind before you introduced me to the stars."

Jaz was snuggled up to Adam in the swag, all warm and cosy and just in reverence at how soothing the night sky was.

"I do. You punched things and shot things. Still do."

"That's true." She laughed, before turning over and resting on her elbows to hold herself up. "Seriously though, thank you. Thank you for all of this. The stars, the swag, the mountain, the fishing, the…"

"…The skinny dipping was all you." Adam added in quickly.

"But you weren't complaining."

"Definitely not."

"I mean it though." She said softly, the emotion in her voice evident.

"I know you do, and you're welcome. Thank you for indulging me." He kissed her softly, and couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else.

"Speaking of this swag though," Jaz pulled away, "Australia has always been on my to-do list. You ever been there?"

"No, but it's on my list too."

Smiling down at him, she kissed him this time, getting lost in his lips as she so easily did time and time again. She could have sworn that his lips were specially designed to fit against hers, because nothing had ever felt so right, or so amazing. This man was amazing.

He reached out to pull her closer so she was laying on top of him and so his hands could touch her everywhere. He wanted to be as close to her as possible, all the time. He in turn, found himself lost in her lips too and before long they completely lost themselves in each other, relishing the isolation and tranquillity that this trip and the swag provided.

Camping under the stars had always been one of Adam's favourite past times, now sharing it with Jaz, he couldn't imagine how life could get much better.

* * *

 **I really wanted to get a bit of Aussie into this story just to indulge myself, hence the swag and the mention of Australia - and I have plans for that down the track too.**

 **For those that ask, yes I plan to continue writing this story for a good, long while yet. And yes, the plan is to also continue to follow them into deployment (once I figure out how to do that justice), but that is still a way off. You know how slowly this story moves, I mean, how long did it take them to wake up to their feelings?! :)**

 **Thanks SO MUCH as always for continuing to read, and as always to the commenting angels - You're all the best! Please let me know what you thought XXX**


	48. Chapter 48

**Hi everyone - and yes I know - it's been too long! Sorry it's taken me a while to get this up. Truthfully, I was going to delete this chapter, it's just a bit of a filler and I didn't know if it was necessary, but I've left it in because it sets up the next couple of chapters.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 48**

They started their last morning of camping the way they had the first morning. Despite the confines of the swag, they explored each other and made love to each other, right there in the day light. The sun had replaced the stars, but their desire for each other had far from diminished in the sunlight.

The swag has been surprisingly comfortable with its inbuilt mattress, and Jaz was amazed to see how it all just rolled up into itself. She was a big fan, and hoped they put it to good use again soon.

Before they packed up the rest of their gear, they went for one last swim in the lake. It was refreshing first thing in the morning and Patton joined them, being the lover of water that he now was.

Jaz lay floating on her back, just gazing up at the sky above feeling so thankful for where she was right now. Not just where she was physically—in this beautiful location—but also emotionally. The relationship she shared with Adam had snuck up and surprised her, but she wouldn't change it for the world. She had felt herself grow and change so much over the last month or so, and she was eager to continue that.

Dalton swam right out to the middle of the lake, trying to burn off some energy. As he swam, he found himself thinking over the last month. It had been a whirlwind of emotions, some he knew that he had been supressing and others that had just snuck up on him. He knew they were far from done with processing everything, there was certainly still so much to figure out, but he couldn't help but smile to himself, thankful for where they were right now.

* * *

After leaving their campsite, Dalton took the scenic route in to town. They needed to top up some supplies before heading back to the cabin, but enjoyed some more of the stunning scenery these mountains provided on the way there.

Parking in town and letting Patton out with them to stretch his legs, they made a beeline for the grocery store.

Wandering the aisles with their shopping cart, they were surprised to bump into Katie as they rounded a corner, with her own cart half full.

"Hey!" She greeted them both with an excited smile before leaning forward to hug them both enthusiastically.

Jaz stumbled back a little at the enthusiasm, still not quite used to spontaneous hugs, but returned the hug nonetheless while Dalton watched on with a grin.

"So good to see you, what are you guys up to?" Katie asked them.

"We're on our way back from camping." Dalton replied, "You?"

"Gotta fill the pantry. Sarah and the kids are coming for dinner tonight." Her face lit up as an idea crossed her mind, "Hey, why don't you guys come too?"

Dalton exchanged a quick glance with Jaz, "Thanks for the offer, but we're actually pretty beat from the camping. Why don't you and Sarah figure out a good day to bring the kids up to the cabin, and we can all spend the day together?"

Katie was happy with that compromise, "Sure, that sounds like fun, the kid's will be rapt. We'll let you know. Ok, I better get back to it then, small mouths to feed and all that..."

Jaz couldn't help but smile at her bubbly personality, and wasn't quite as surprised at the goodbye hug before Katie continued on her way.

"She's…"

"Crazy?" Dalton finished for her.

Jaz laughed, "No, she's just enthusiastic about everything. I like it."

Dalton looked at her sideways, "Are you sure? The Jaz I know would be rolling her eyes at someone that… bubbly."

"Well – yeah, ok you're right. But this is your sister, it's different."

He took a step forward and dropped a kiss to her forehead, "I appreciate that. But she drives me crazy too sometimes."

Laughing, Jaz took his hand, "Come on, let's finish up here so we can get home to Cass."

"Speaking of crazy…" He muttered under his breath as he steered the shopping cart.

Jaz turned and gave him a sharp look. Knowing full well that she had heard him, he grimaced waiting for some sort of retaliation, but when it didn't come straight away, he knew it would… eventually.

* * *

Pulling up to the cabin, Dalton was surprised when Jaz helped him unload the truck instead of racing inside to check on Cassiopeia. They unloaded all the camping gear, making sure to hang the swag over the back veranda to give it an airing before they would put it away for the next trip.

All the fishing rods and paraphernalia, and extra camping equipment was put away before Jaz said she would take Patton for a quick walk to the jetty before going inside.

Dalton stared incredulously after her, not quite believing that she _still_ hadn't checked on Cass.

He dropped their bags inside by the front door, before going back to retrieve the groceries. Once he had placed them on the kitchen bench, ready to unload, he lowered himself so he was the same level as Cass's fish bowl and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief seeing the fish still happily swimming circles. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't been worried that the fish would be belly up by the time they got back, but it seemed the slow feeder really did work this time.

"Hey buddy. Still happy in there huh? Did you miss us? Just between you and me, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you still swimming laps in there. If— "

"And he thinks I'm crazy."

Dalton jumped upon hearing Jaz's voice and turned around to see her phone held up in front of her.

"Jesus Jaz, you're like a ninja, you know that?"

"I refuse to continue to answer that, but by all means, smile for the camera, it's recording."

He stuck his middle finger up at the camera instead and she laughed loudly and happily in response. She had his whole conversation with Cass recorded and she couldn't wait to send it to the team.

Begrudgingly laughing with her, he knew that that was the retaliation, and he'd fallen for it. He should have known better. He watched her as she put her phone away and joined him in front of Cass' bowl while she had her own conversation with the gold fish.

He began to put the groceries away as she did so and he couldn't help but just smile _again_ at the amount of happiness that one small gold fish gave her.

"You know we could have gone to your sister's for dinner if you wanted to."

Dalton turned away from the fridge to see her having joined him in the kitchen.

"Nah, it's all good. Trust me, when you meet all the kids you'll understand why."

"But they're your family, and they want to see you."

"And they will," he took a step closer to her before hooking his fingers into her belt loops and pulling her even closer, "But I want you all to myself for just a bit longer. Trust me, once we've spent time with them, Katie will be wanting to catch up all the time."

"You make that sound like a bad thing."

Chuckling and leaning down to bury his face in her neck, his beard tickled her as he whispered, "Just wait and see."

"But—maybe you guys… uh…"

Instantly distracted by the sensations on her neck, she lost her train of thought and instead it turned just to him. Closing her eyes in desire, she lifted his head with her hands to look into his eyes, "We need a shower."

In complete agreement with her, he led her to the bathroom and his double shower to wash off the last couple of days, among other things.

* * *

Sitting on the couch after dinner that evening, Jaz sent a few pics to their SOG7 WhatsApp group from their camping expedition, including the view from the top of the mountain they had hiked.

 _ **Looks like you're on top of the world**_ – Preach

 _ **Great pictures, Jaz**_ – Amir

 _ **That's a lot of trees**_ – McG

After that, she sent them the video of Dalton talking to Cassiopeia.

 _ **WTF, Top? You're going soft on us**_ – McG

 _ **I will be watching this over and over again. Well done on capturing this, Jaz**_ – Amir

 _ **Animals are agreeable friends. They ask no questions; they pass no judgement**_ – Preach

 _ **Which is clearly what I need right now, with friends like McG and Amir**_ – Top

 _ **You need friends like us before you fall too far into domesticity ;)**_ – McG

 _ **I have no problem with domesticity. But the concern over a gold fish is charming**_ – Amir

 _ **Hey! That's my goldfish. And her name is Cassiopeia**_ – Jaz

 _ **Cassiopeia? I'm not even gonna ask**_ – McG

 _ **Ah. The vain queen. Great choice**_ – Preach

Dalton smiled at that. Not many people knew about his love for the stars, but Preach was one of the few who did.

 _ **Well at least you didn't kill it yet, well done Jazzy**_ – McG

 _ ***middle finger emoji***_ \- Jaz

While the team were partaking in their usual banter, Dalton got a message from Katie at the same time. She, Sarah and the kids were free in a couple of days and wanted to know if it was ok with him and Jaz to drive up to the cabin to spend the day together.

He leaned over to show Jaz the message and when she immediately nodded her head, he shot off a quick text back to Katie to confirm. She replied not knowing if her husband would be able to make it or not, but all five kids would be there.

Dalton knew it would be a hectic day, but he was looking forward to seeing his nieces and nephews again. And he was really looking forward to them all meeting Jaz. It had seemed surreal when she had met his sisters, and now she would meet the rest of the family and he couldn't be happier. So long as Jaz was happy with it all, that's all that mattered.

He would need to plan some activities for the day, and luckily, that was something he was good at.

* * *

Early the next morning, while they were still in bed, they were both disturbed by their phones with a barrage of incoming notifications.

 _ **Guess what peeps?**_ – McG

 _ **Mama McG is going away on a girl's weekend in 2 weeks**_ – McG

 _ **Perfect for you guys to come and visit**_ – McG

 _ **Shitloads of space for y'all**_ – McG

 _ **You guys keen?**_ – McG

Jaz and Dalton were both squinting at their phones, reading McG's multiple messages.

 _ **You couldn't have just sent that in one message instead of disturbing us with a million notifications?**_ – Jaz

 _ **I don't even wanna know what I was disturbing**_ – McG

 _ **What are you even doing up this early?**_ – Amir

 _ **He probably hasn't been to bed yet**_ – Top

 _ **Ding, ding, ding Top**_ – McG

 _ **Well I'll have you all know that I've already been and finished my rehab session for the day, while all your lazy asses are in bed**_ – Preach

 _ **So what do you guys think?**_ – McG

 _ **Sounds good, let me check with the Mrs though**_ – Preach

 _ **Should be fine with me, but I was hoping to meet your Mom**_ – Amir

 _ **Too bad. Straight in the kitchen for you Amir**_ – McG

 _ **Typical**_ – Amir

 _ **Should be fine with us**_ – Top.

 _ **Us? You two cuties ;)**_ – McG

Jaz and Dalton rolled their eyes at each other at that.

 _ **Ok, let me know if you look into flights**_ – McG

 _ **We'll get back to you soon**_ – Top

 _ **I'll let you know ASAP**_ – Preach

 _ **I'll definitely be there**_ – Amir

 _ ***thumbs up emoji***_ \- McG

"Have you ever been out to his place before?" Jaz asked Dalton, knowing that McG had been on the team longer than herself.

"No actually. We've mentioned it a few times, but it never ended up happening. It'll be great to see where he's from – might explain a lot."

They both chuckled in agreement. McG was a much loved member of their team. They all liked to give him crap and tease him for still living with his Mom and for his love of food, tequila and a pretty face, but they also couldn't imagine the team without him. And when he was in medic mode, there was no one else they would want treating them.

Jaz yawned as she asked Dalton what he wanted to do today.

Smiling at her he said, "It looks like you need some more sleep, how about a lazy day today?"

"A lazy day actually sounds amazing."

Pulling her close so she was tucked up against his chest, he stroked her hair softly and she felt her eyelids start to feel heavy once again and she drifted off to sleep. Gazing down at her, still holding her tight, he pressed his lips to her forehead, still so thankful that moments like this were real. He fell back asleep soon after and for the first time since either of them could remember, they slept until nearly midday, clearly needing the rest.

The rest of that day they hung around the cabin, watched TV, read a little and cooked dinner together. They also took some time to write in the journals that Jaz had bought the two of them. Both had been jotting down a few things every now and then. Xander had told them to jot down things, both good and bad, as a method to help avoid anything from playing on their subconscious too much. It was similar to Xander encouraging communication for the very same reason.

Jaz had a lot of new experiences to write about. This whole cabin experience obviously took up a lot of space in the journal; their camping expedition too. Being a pet owner now was also brand new, and of course her relationship with Dalton was the absolute highlight. But she found it difficult to put that into words a lot of the time. But she did as best she could. She was fiercely determined to continue with the progress she had made during her sessions with Xander, and if writing about her feelings was going to help, that's what she would do.

Dalton wrote about his relationship with Jaz, for the very same reason that she did. He was equally as determined as she was and could only hope the benefits continued. He also wrote briefly about seeing his sisters and the upcoming day with the whole family. He had a feeling he would have a lot more to write about after that.

* * *

They spent that night apart, as they had been practising. Being this happy was making it a little easier to get through the night nightmare free. Sleeping in Adam's t-shirt definitely helped and even though Adam woke in the middle of the night, it was just to go to the bathroom. Once he poked his head in Jaz's room and saw her resting peacefully, he returned to his bed and did the same.

The next day Dalton wanted to go back into town to get some supplies for the day with his family. He needed barbeque supplies, kid friendly drinks and stuff for the kids to play with.

They headed straight for the water pistols and nerf guns upon entering Target. Dalton just loaded up the cart and left Jaz laughing, "You're just trying to turn them into mini versions of you."

"Well I don't see them that often, I have to leave an impression." He shrugged.

"Are they all outdoorsy?"

"I'm not sure to be honest. Maybe I should get a couple of other things just in case, what do you think?"

Jaz smiled inwardly at being asked what her opinion was. She didn't know if she would be much help, she didn't really know what kids liked, and not growing up with many possessions herself, she couldn't even help in that respect. But being asked was just a sweet gesture in itself. Like she was a part of something. Like she belonged to something.

They decided to get a couple of other things; a pack of Uno cards, a pack of traditional cards, colouring books and coloured pencils, and a few other pieces of sporting equipment.

When they got back to the cabin and unloaded their Target haul and their grocery haul, they just laughed at all the paraphernalia filling the cabin.

"So kids take a lot of… stuff, huh?"

Dalton just laughed with Jaz, "I have no idea. I just swoop in, be Uncle Adam for a couple of weeks, and then I'm gone. I've never been around long term to know the ins and outs of parenthood."

He stood looking around at everything they had bought, "So I'm thinking, they arrive at about midday; we can start with the water pistols, before a swim in the lake while it's warm. Then we can load up the nerf guns and take them into the woods for a bit to wear them out. Then we'll do some fishing on the jetty, have dinner at 6 and then wind up with some card games or colouring. What do you think?"

Jaz tried to bite back the laughter in her voice, but didn't quite succeed, "I think that sounds like a very action packed and well planned day, Captain Dalton."

He laughed, "Too much?"

"I have no experience with this either, but let's just wait until they arrive and see what they feel like doing. We'll… _improvise_. We're good at that."

Dalton smiled at her wryly, remembering their conversation about improvising in Tehran. And she had been right at the time; they improvise all the time.

He stood in front of her and kissed her softly on the lips "You're right, we'll improvise. And if anything goes wrong, we'll send them home with their parents."

Jaz laughed out loud at that and kissed him back, "That's the beauty of other people's kids."

* * *

That evening they sat out on the back veranda, after getting themselves as prepared as they could for tomorrow. The fridge contained the usual beer and wine, but there was now also juice and soda for the kids. The salad was chopped and ready to go. The ingredients for s'mores were restocked and the amount of snacks in the pantry, both healthy and unhealthy, was at an all-time high. So they sat, and stared skyward, as had become their routine.

Patton sat with his head resting on Dalton's foot and the three of them just enjoyed the peace and quiet underneath the galaxy of stars that were providing tonight's entertainment.

Jaz would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous about tomorrow. Meeting Adam's sisters had been one thing, and she was glad she had done so already before the entire family arrived tomorrow, but she hadn't been around many small children—at all. Occasionally a mission had involved some children, and those ones always struck her the most, but in her everyday life, they were like aliens to her and she wasn't quite sure what to expect.

Dalton was feeling much the same. Some of his nieces and nephews were still quite young and it had still been nearly 8 months since he had seen them last; he was far from a permanent fixture in their lives. Would they even remember him? Regardless, he was glad his sisters would be there too. It would give him a chance to spend a bit more time with them also.

He looked over at Jaz and smiled at her when she returned his gaze.

"Let's get to bed early, I have a feeling we're going to be flat out tomorrow."

"Going to bed early sounds good to me." She agreed, with a twinkle in her eye.

That twinkle had Dalton standing up so quickly, that Patton jumped up with him, wondering what all the excitement was about. All three of them migrated inside and with Patton on his bed in the lounge room, and a quick goodbye to Cass in the kitchen, Dalton and Jaz closed the bedroom door behind them.

Their _early_ night, probably wouldn't end up being as early as first anticipated.

* * *

 **Well like I said at the beginning, this is just a bit of a filler. The next couple of chapters will be spent with Dalton's sisters and their kids and everything that comes with that.**

 **Thank you to those of you who are still sticking with me, and once again, sorry this took a while to get up. I promise the next one won't take as long!**

 **Much love to you all for reading and commenting - you're all the BEST! XXX**


	49. Chapter 49

**Hey there everyone! So this starts the chapters with Dalton's sisters and their kids spending the day at the cabin. I wrote this just as a massive slab and true to form, it's turned out quite long so I've split it into chapters. Here is the first part. More to come!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did.**

* * *

 **Chapter 49**

"So, Sarah's kids are Olivia who is ten, and Sam and Charlie are four-year-old twins. Katie's kids are Maya who is seven and Emily who is three." Jaz clarified.

"Nailed it." Dalton confirmed. Not surprised that Jaz remembered all that information already.

They were sitting enjoying a cup of coffee in the kitchen and enjoying the peaceful surrounds of the cabin. Dalton's family weren't arriving for another hour or so yet, at around midday, so they were indulging in what he anticipated was the calm before the storm.

The day was shaping up to be a hot one, which he was thankful for. The lake would be great in the afternoon for them all to swim in and it would be a nice clear day for dinner out on the back veranda later on.

As she so often did, Jaz was sitting on the counter top as she savoured her coffee. She watched Cass swimming around happily, hoping that would help settle the nerves she could feel deep inside her. She was looking forward to the day, but she was still nervous. She didn't have much experience with family, never mind kids.

Dalton sensed this and come around the counter to stop in front of her.

"If they hate us, we never have to see them again."

Jaz's small furrow in her brow, was replaced with laugh lines as she legitimately laughed out loud, "Is that really your solution?"

Dalton shrugged, "Not necessarily, but it got rid of the look on your face."

Jaz placed her coffee on the bench next to her and pulled him close to her, "I'll be fine. We'll be fine."

Dalton stepped forward, placing his hands on Jaz's knees as he leant closer to kiss her. He knew she had some nerves about today, and truthfully so did he.

It was laughable really. They took down some of the world's vilest criminals and terrorists. They went into battle armed with multiple weapons designed to maim or kill. They entered enemy territory repeatedly, knowing the consequences of being caught was almost certain death—and yet the thought of a full day with two sisters and five kids is what made them nervous.

They lingered together, enjoying the moment, knowing the rest of the day would most likely be busy.

Pulling back from their kiss, Dalton's hands made lazy circles on her knees and his thumbs ran over the old but large scars on either side of them. He looked down at them and while he knew they existed, he had never asked about them. Looking up again into her eyes, almost questioningly, he wondered if this was the ideal time to ask the question.

Before he made his decision, his phone beeped with an incoming message and with a last brush of his thumbs, he stepped away to check his phone.

Jaz knew what he had been about to ask her, and while she knew that conversation was coming, she had been relieved when his phone beeped. She had had those scars for so long, that she sometimes forgot she had them. The scars from Tehran were much fresher, but when Arthur had drawn her attention back to her knees, it had prompted feelings she thought had been buried long ago.

"Katie has just left and Sarah is already on her way. They'll be about 45 minutes."

Dalton's words shook her out of her reverie, and she looked up and smiled, "Let the games begin."

Watching her climb down from the kitchen bench and put her coffee cup in the dishwasher, he knew she was glad to have avoided that conversation for now.

* * *

Hearing a car pull up outside the cabin, Jaz and Dalton went outside, with Patton hot on their heels, to see that it was Sarah in her SUV.

"Hi Uncle Adam," a girl—who Jaz could only assume was Olivia—called out as she stepped out the back seat.

"Hey Liv, you've gotten taller." Dalton observed, stepping forward to give her a hug and smiling when she squeezed him tight in return.

"Uncle Adam, Uncle Adam, Uncle Adam!" Two small voices were very insistent as they barrelled towards Dalton and wrapped themselves around a leg each.

Chucking he leaned down and lifted them both up, one in each arm, "Who is Sam and who is Charlie?" He teased them, even though the boys were fraternal twins and were easy to tell apart.

"I'm Tham." Sam said proudly, his adorable lisp on display as he spoke.

"And I'm Charlie, silly." The other twin admonished, causing all the adults to laugh in response.

Spinning around with the boys still in his arms, he introduced them to Jaz, "This is Jaz. Can you say hi?"

"Hi Jath."

"Hi Jaz."

"Hi guys." Jaz greeted them, already noticing the Dalton genes running strongly in those boys.

Olivia stepped around Adam and the boys and approached Jaz with her hand out, "Hi Jaz, I'm Olivia, but you can call me Liv."

Jaz returned her hand shake, already enamoured by this sweet, confident girl, "It's nice to meet you Liv. I love your hair," Jaz replied, admiring the long braid falling down her back.

"Thanks, my Mom did it for me. I can't do a braid on myself yet, but I've been practising."

Sarah stepped forward then to greet Jaz with a hug, "Thanks for letting us spend the day with you, the kids have been looking forward to this."

"Of course. We have too."

"YOU HAVE A DOG?" The boys practically squealed as they caught sight of Patton. As they began to wriggle in Dalton's arms, he put them down and they made a beeline for Patton, stroking him as he rolled over on his back, pleased to have two new humans to rub his belly.

"Oh thanks a lot, they've been asking for a dog, now I'll never hear the end of it." Sarah chuckled as she gave Dalton a hug hello now that his arms were free again.

"He was reluctant at first too, but now they are attached at the hip." Jaz teased as Dalton just shrugged.

They stood and watched the boys play with Patton for a bit longer, before heading around to the back of the cabin to the veranda.

Shortly after, another car pulled up outside and upon hearing it, Jaz and Dalton went back out front to greet them while Sarah and the kids continued to shower affection upon Patton.

One small pocket rocket jumped energetically out of the back seat and launched herself at Dalton, "Hi Uncle Adam, I've missed you."

"Hey Maya, I missed you too." Dalton replied, touched at her words.

Turning towards Jaz, Maya threw herself at her also, "Hi Jaz, my name's Maya. My Mom told me that you're Uncle Adam's girlfriend. Should I call you Auntie Jaz?"

Meeting Dalton's eyes as she hugged Maya back, she couldn't help but see the laughter in them. With a big smile on her face she leaned down and said to Maya, "How about you just call me Jaz for now."

"Ok, I like the name Jaz." And with that she ran around the back of the cabin to go and see her cousins.

"Saying she takes after her Mom is an understatement, huh?"

Jaz just laughed in response, what a whirlwind Maya and Katie must be in the same household.

Katie made her way towards them with Emily on her hip. She had clearly just woken up from a nap in the car and she buried her head in her Mom's shoulder shyly as they approached Dalton and Jaz.

Katie kissed them both on the cheek in greeting, but Emily remained snuggled into her Mom.

"Hi Em," Dalton said softly to her and even though she kept her head against her Mom's shoulder she turned her face towards Dalton.

"This is your Uncle Adam. Do you remember him?"

Emily shook her head and given that she was only three, it wasn't a surprise that she didn't remember her Uncle.

"This is Jaz; can you give her a smile?"

Again, Emily's eyes moved so that they were focused on Jaz, who gave her a small wave, but she was still too shy to do anything other than stare.

"She'll warm up soon. She's slept the whole way here so she's still a little sleepy." Katie explained.

They went and joined the others out back and let all the kids finish greeting each other. Maya was already sitting down with Sam and Charlie, lavishing Patton with attention, who in turn was lapping it all up.

* * *

Jaz was inside getting some drinks for everyone when Katie wandered in, still with Emily attached to her hip.

"Do you need any help?" She asked as Jaz had her head in the fridge.

"Sure, come and tell me what drinks the kids like."

"Geez, you've got just about everything in here." Katie exclaimed as she saw the vast variety of food and drink inside the sizable fridge.

Jaz chuckled, "Yeah. Adam and I went a little crazy in the supermarket. Didn't want to forget anything."

"You two are too cute."

Jaz flushed slightly as she placed an array of drinks on the kitchen bench.

"Fishy."

Jaz glanced up in surprise, hearing Emily's little voice for the first time. She saw the toddler pointing to Cassiopeia's bowl on the kitchen bench and watched her face light up in delight. Katie moved closer to the bowl so Emily could get a better look and her little eyes were captivated.

"Her name is Cassiopeia, but I call her Cass for short." Jaz said to Emily in a soft voice.

She watched a small smile cross Emily's face as she whispered, "Cass."

"That's right. Your Uncle Adam bought her for me."

"He bought you a pet? That's that cutest thing in the world. Who knew he could be so sweet?" Katie gushed.

Jaz laughed, "It still surprises me too. _He_ surprises me."

Katie watched Jaz's already flushed face, deepen even further and she couldn't deny she was squealing on the inside. She could see how much Jaz cared about her big brother and that just made her… excited. She had _never_ met anyone in Adam's life, so she knew this was a big deal anyway.

"Let's get these drinks to the others."

Katie watched Jaz walk outside and smiled after her. She couldn't wait to get to know her better.

* * *

Now that Emily had perked up, as soon as they were back outside, Katie put her down and she ran happily to where her sister and cousins were playing with Patton while Jaz gave them a drink each.

Dalton had already loaded up the water pistols. There was a super-soaker for himself and Jaz and smaller water pistol for the kids. While they were fussing over Patton, Dalton had the sneak attack and let fire on them all at once, causing them to squeal in surprise, followed by delight as they saw the other toys ready for them to use.

They scrambled away from the constant stream of water that their Uncle Adam was aiming at them and grabbed their own toy to start firing back.

Sam and Charlie took it very seriously and went and hid behind the banister on the veranda steps. Olivia looked around strategically and found a tree to hide behind. Maya ran up to her Mom and her auntie, trying to use them as protection, and Emily surprised Jaz when she grabbed her hand to stick with her.

Looking down at the small hand gripping hers, Jaz couldn't help but search out Dalton and wasn't surprised when he was looking straight back at her. If she had been nervous about meeting all the kids, this was certainly easing that. The look in Dalton's eyes was soft, but also assuming, like he hadn't had a doubt in the world that the kids would take to her.

Giving her a small nod and a quick tender smile, which did not go unnoticed by his sisters, he quickly changed into Top mode and snuck up on his nephews, letting fire with his super-soaker, so they ended up… soaked.

They all laughed out loud as the boys shrieked in surprise as they were now dripping wet, and with cries of "Uncle Adam, we're coming to get you," they ran off after him as he jogged away at a slower pace than he usually would when the enemy were chasing him.

Olivia, left the safety of her tree and approached Jaz, "We should team up against them."

"Yeah let's get them; girls against boys. It will be so much fun and we'll beat them easily." Maya chipped in as she joined them.

Jaz smirked. She liked the way these girls were thinking. "What do you think, Em?" She asked the little girl who was still clutching her hand.

"Let's get them."

Jaz couldn't help but laugh at her instant response, so Jaz agreed easily, "Well ok then. Let's team up."

"Uncle Adam is usually pretty good at this stuff. Are you a good shot, Jaz?" Olivia asked earnestly.

"I think so." She replied equally as earnestly, but smirking on the inside. She hoped these kids never knew the extent of the job they did, and knowing that Jaz was a sniper is not something she would share with them. Having said that, pretending she wasn't good at something she was elite at, is a task she would struggle with, so you can bet your life she had every intention of winning this water fight.

Hiding out of sight, they could hear the boys approaching from wherever they had run off to. As they came into sight, Dalton once again had a twin in each arm and the boys were dripping with water. He had clearly won that battle.

He slowed as he approached the cabin though because he couldn't see anyone other than his sisters. Where had those girls gotten to?

Putting the boys both back on the ground, he whispered to them, "Get your water pistols ready."

With serious faces, both Sam and Charlie started to mimic their uncle's slow steps as he had his head on a swivel, surveying the surroundings. The water pistols were out in front of them and Sarah and Katie watched on in amusement as the three of them tried to be as stealthy as possible.

They flinched as a stream of water was aimed their way and turned suddenly to the left to see Maya giggling and quickly hiding behind a tree. Sam and Charlie were keen to get revenge and ran straight for the tree, shrieking as they did so and it quickly turned into a two on one battle with Maya, with Maya walking away just as soaked as they already were.

Dalton could hear the small giggles of Emily, and Liv's quiet shushing of her coming from behind the shed. Walking towards it, showing no mercy, he grinned widely as he put his super-soaker to good use.

Emily squealed and despite Liv knowing that it was her giggles that gave them away, she took the blame herself, "Oh man, I should have been quieter walking around, I need to learn how to be a ninja."

Dalton recognised what she was doing, "It's a good job Em was with you, otherwise I would have found you sooner." He smiled at Em, but ruffled Liv's hair at the same time, sharing a private smile with her.

"You haven't found Jaz yet." Maya exclaimed excitedly as she and the boys joined them.

"Where is she?" Charlie asked

"Not telling." Maya answered quickly.

Dalton looked around, his super-soaker raised as he searched for clues of where Jaz might be hiding when he felt a stream of water hit his neck. While he reached up to wipe it away, the girls giggled and the boys were incensed.

"Where is she? Where is she?" They started chanting as another stream of water hit their uncle, causing them to get even louder. Dalton knew from the angle the water hit him that it was coming from high up.

As he searched the trees around them, he suddenly heard a soft "Hey," and when he whipped around it was to a constant stream of water being directed right at his face. It didn't let up, so running towards it, he lifted Jaz up over his shoulder and ran around with her, causing all his nephews and nieces to howl with laughter. He realised that Jaz had been in the tree and had jumped down without him even hearing her. Typical.

"WE WON, WE WON, WE WON." Liv and Maya were chanting, while Emily clapped along with them.

When Dalton finally put Jaz down, she grinned delightedly and wickedly at him before joining the girls. They all high fived each other and delighted in their plan working.

The boys didn't seem to mind too much, they were just happy to be playing with water pistols and they all walked over and joined the girls.

Dalton caught Liv's eye and pointed to Jaz, "Now that's how you be a ninja," barely hiding his pride.

"I hope she can teach me some tricks."

"I sure can." Jaz joined in, overhearing their conversation.

"Oh geez, you'll all be ganging up on me." Dalton exclaimed.

"I wanna learn to be a ninja too." Sam said.

"Me too."

"Me too."

Dalton looked incredulously at them all, feigning betrayal.

"ME TOO." They all heard Katie yell out from the veranda and everyone laughed at that, even Dalton.

As the kids walked back towards the veranda to grab their drinks, Dalton hung back with Jaz momentarily and smiled wryly at her, "Couldn't help yourself huh?"

"What? The girls wanted a plan. We came up with a plan."

"Did you mean for Emily to be a decoy?"

Jaz shrugged, "Nope. We improvised, and it worked out well."

Dalton laughed, "That it did. That it did."

With that, he placed his hand on the back of her neck and massaged it as they walked towards the veranda. Even with his whole family around, his touch still made her glow and the smile on her face was large enough to power the sun.

His hand slipped away as they joined the others, but Katie caught their eye and the smile on her face matched Jaz's. That flush that Katie had seen earlier on Jaz's face appeared again, and she quickly raised a cold bottle of water to her lips to cool herself down.

* * *

Since the kids were already wet, they decided to go for a swim in the lake. It was hot and everyone was eager to cool off. As Jaz went and changed into her swimsuit, Dalton and his sisters got the kids ready.

Sarah was helping the boys get out of their clothes while Katie helped Emily slide floaties on her arms.

When Jaz came back out, with her shorts and t-shirt thrown back over her swimsuit, Sarah and Katie set off into the house to change into their suits too.

"Do you mind if we head over to the lake with the kids?" Dalton asked them before they disappeared.

"Not at all, if you don't mind." Sarah answered.

"We got this. See you down there."

As they set off, Jaz was once again surprised when Emily came up and grabbed her hand again. She smiled down at the little girl, and instinctively looked over to Dalton. Once again he just smiled back at her, all the way up to the crinkles either side of his eyes. He couldn't deny that seeing his niece take to Jaz so quickly made him feel happy. And content. And something else he couldn't quite place.

When they got to the shore of the lake, they all stripped out of their clothes and Dalton was super thankful that Jaz was in one of her one-piece swimsuits. Not that she didn't look fucking amazing in that too—she did—but he didn't want to have any awkward conversations or explanations with his young nieces and nephews.

Jaz caught his eye and her wicked grin let him know she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Can we jump off the jetty?" Charlie asked.

"Maybe later buddy." Dalton answered him, wanting to find out more about their swimming skills before he would let anyone jump off the jetty. His need for safety first, extended into all areas of his life.

"What's that on your leg, Jath?" Sam's lisp caught their attention, as he pointed towards the scars on Jaz's legs.

Jaz was immediately lost for words. She hadn't thought about the kids seeing her scars. She had had them for so long, she sometimes forgot she still had them. She would never forget _how_ she got them, but they were so ingrained in her, that the attention to them surprised her.

"Oh – umm… they umm…" Jaz didn't know how to answer; she was still caught off guard by the questions.

"Are they from owies?" Charlie asked, having seen what Sam was pointing too.

Jaz looked at Adam quickly, seeing the hesitance in his face, before answering in a quiet voice, "Yeah they're from owies."

"They look like big owies. Did someone kiss them better?"

Jaz once again didn't know how to answer, and seeing her struggle, Dalton swooped in, "Boys are we ready to get in there?"

"Sure we are." They quickly answered, excited at the prospect of getting into the lake.

Jaz shot Dalton a look of thanks as she felt Emily tug on her hand. Looking down at her, she watched the little girl kiss her finger and then place it on the side of her knee where one of her scars was.

"All better." Emily said simply.

The sudden prickling in her eyes had her blinking excessively. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she wasn't quite sure how to react—or what this feeling was.

"Thanks Em." She managed to choke out, gripping the little girls hand even tighter.

Seeing her face and the look of shock wash over it, Dalton leaned over to pick up Emily, "Ready to go Em?"

As Emily nodded enthusiastically, Dalton placed his hand on Jaz's cheek until she met his eyes, "You good?"

She knew he was checking in with her. She knew that at the moment that's what he could offer her, and she appreciated it, especially with all the kids around.

"I'm good." She whispered in return. He rubbed his thumb across her cheek and she sought comfort from that. "Go," she whispered again, "I'll be right behind you."

Holding her gaze a fraction longer, he leaned over to press his lips to her forehead, before turning and walking back towards the shore where the other kids were waiting.

Jaz took a moment to gather herself and took a few long deep breaths, just like Xander has taught her. Not many people had asked her about the scars. Elijah had once, but Jaz had dodged the topic, making it clear that it wasn't a discussion she wanted to have. And of course Arthur had brought them up in Tehran, which caused a shiver to go down her spine just remembering. Then in the space of one day, Dalton had alluded to them earlier in his kitchen and little Sam has asked about them. But she understood that little kids were curious creatures and asking is always better than assuming. She just wasn't quite sure what the answer would have been if Dalton hadn't saved the day.

Once her breathing was back under control and she could feel her heart rate lower, she started walking towards the lake to join the others. She could think about all of this later. For now, she wanted to be with Dalton and his family.

Dalton winked at her as she joined them and she gave him a reassuring smile. She had this.

All of a sudden Patton ran out into the water and the boys shrieked in delight and ran out to join him, with Dalton hot on their heels.

Sarah and Katie soon joined them and they all enjoyed swimming and splashing around in the lake and eventually, jumping off the jetty.

* * *

Jaz, Sarah and Katie stood on the jetty while the kids took it in turns jumping into Dalton's arms. Olivia was in the lake with him, already a strong and confident swimmer.

Jaz couldn't help but smile seeing Adam with his nephews and nieces. She had been learning all new facets to Dalton over the course of the last few months, but this was another addition. Seeing how attentive he was with them, was once again making her feel things she wasn't familiar with, but a warmth spread from deep inside her and emanated through her eyes as she watched.

Katie nudged her, "So you're really into my brother, huh?"

Jaz laughed, "What makes you say that?"

"Because you look at him the same way he looks at you. And I've never seen him look at anyone else like that. I'm guessing it's the same for you."

"I've never met anyone like him." Jaz admitted, before continuing, "Can I ask you a question?" Katie just nodded in encouragement, "When we had lunch last week, you said that you'd always hoped it would be me he ended up with. What did you mean by that?"

The look of curiosity on her face let Katie know she really didn't know.

"Adam's been in the army since I was twelve. For all that time he's only ever been home for small stints before shipping out again. He's never mentioned any woman or any female friend before. Sarah and I always ask him about his deployments and as you know he only ever tells us the bare minimum, which we understand, but he always has a couple of little stories about his teammates. Three years ago, the look in his eyes changed when he first mentioned you. It was like the light that had been missing for as long as I can remember had been relit. His voice became a touch softer when he mentioned your name—but at the same time, he also said as little as possible as he could about you. Dead giveaway. He's not the best communicator, and we have accepted that about him, but we both knew that you were someone different and for the longest time we have hoped that we might get to meet you someday. And here we are… someday!"

Jaz just stared at Katie. She understood how Dalton had been a little closed off to his sisters. Their job wasn't one you could exactly write home about. But not being privy to many family dynamics had her surprised that they had read him so easily. She was a trained spy, and yet, she had only ever picked up mixed signals over the last few years. I guess being an outside observer made it easier to see.

"It's ok that you don't know what to say," Katie chuckled, "I know I talk a lot, I'm sure Adam told you that about me, but it's the truth. I don't see him often, but I _see_ him—if that makes sense?"

"It makes a lot of sense." Jaz clarified, not sure what else to say, but thankful that Katie had given her an answer.

Sarah was in the lake now as well as all the kids and Jaz and Katie just stood gazing out at them all. Katie placed her hand softly on Jaz's shoulder causing her to look straight at her, "I've never seen my brother this happy. Ever. So thank you, it's really great to see this side of him."

With that she took off at a run and bombed into the lake, making all the kids laugh out loud.

Jaz just smiled after her in amazement, before the yelling of her name interrupted her thoughts. Apparently she was wanted in the lake, and that feeling of want was one of the best feelings in the world. She ran up and did her own bomb into the lake. She laughed as she surfaced right next to Adam, and she spontaneously wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him close. His face broke into a big smile and he pulled her even closer, leaning forward to capture her lips quickly.

"What are you smiling at?" He asked curiously when he pulled back, but the smile didn't leave her face.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? That smile doesn't look like nothing."

She just beamed back at him, not offering an explanation.

Trying to read her face, he had no such luck. He had seen Jaz and Katie chatting on the jetty, and goodness knows what Katie had had to say. But if whatever it was had put that smile back on Jaz's face, he had no complaints. A smile on her face was like the sun. Bright, stunning and warm. It suited her.

Not being able to resist that face he kissed her again, this time a little bit longer and a little bit deeper. It took a small voice to remind me that they had an audience.

"Gross, Uncle Adam is kissing Jaz." Charlie was exclaiming, his face all twisted up in disgust.

Pulling away from each other, a little embarrassed that they had forgotten their surroundings, they gave the others wry smiles and Adam just shrugged. There was a big grin on Katie's face while she had her hand covering up Emily's eyes. Sarah, Liv and Maya all had similar smiles on their faces.

The only one not smiling, other than Charlie, was Sam, "Groth," he agreed with his brother and scrunched up his little face in distaste.

With one last quick smile to Jaz, Dalton broke away and made towards Sarah who had hold of the twins, "Come here, you little rascals!"

They all looked on laughingly as Dalton grabbed the boys and hitched them over his shoulders. And the boys loved every minute of it.

* * *

 **So like I said earlier, I thought this day at the cabin would just be one chapter, but it has turned into three chapters! Slowest story ever, right? Introducing the nieces and nephews took up a big part of this chapter, but I wanted to highlight each kid a little bit... and then I just couldn't stop. Needless to say there is more of the sisters and kids to come.**

 **I'll post the next chapter soon, but thank you all for sticking with me, for reading and for commenting. I love writing this story and I love getting your feedback.**

 **For those that ask: Yes, I have every intention of continuing this story and it will include when they have to redeploy and what happens when they do so. I'm no where near done with this!**

 **Thanks again for reading and much love to you all XXX**


	50. Chapter 50

**Happy Thursday! I wanted to upload this now because I won't get a chance this coming weekend. This picks up right where the last chapter left off with Dalton's sisters and their kids up at the cabin, so if you need to re-read that, please do so.**

 **Also, this has a little throwback to Chapter 5 - which, yes, I realise that was a loooooonnggg time ago. See if you can pick it.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 50**

The Dalton family and Jaz enjoyed cooling off in the lake. The kids had loved jumping off the jetty as well as splashing each other, dunking each other and playing with Patton who took any opportunity to show off his swimming skills.

When they went back up to the cabin to dry off and get changed, Emily hightailed it as quick as she could to haul herself up on one of the kitchen benches to sit in front of Cassiopeia's bowl. Her little face just lit up as she took so much delight in watching the fish swim around in circles.

"Remind you of anyone else we know?" Dalton asked Jaz sarcastically, standing next to her.

"Shut up." She said as she bumped his shoulder with his as she went to join Emily.

"Coooooool, you have a pet fish _and_ Patton?" Charlie asked as he and Sam came out of the spare bedroom where Sarah had been helping them get redressed.

"We do," Jaz answered happily, "Her name is Cassiopeia."

"Cassiopeia? After the vain queen?" Sarah asked as she too exited the bedroom.

"That's the one."

Sarah flashed a quick smile with raised eyebrows to her brother who just shrugged in response. She had no doubt that her star gazing brother had shared the tales with Jaz. He had sat outside with their Mom most nights and regaled in her stories. It made Sarah happy to know that he was passing those stories on.

"Cath… Cathio… Cathi – what's her name again?" Sam asked, his lisp making the name even harder for him to get his tongue around.

"It's Cassiopeia, but we call her Cass for short." Jaz smiled at him.

"Cath?"

"That's right."

"Cass. I like that." Charlie said solemnly.

These kids were definitely all animal lovers. The boys went back to playing with Patton while Sarah and Katie sat at their Mom's old dining table just chatting. The girls gathered around the fishbowl with Jaz, and Dalton just stood in the kitchen surveying his surroundings.

Other than the other members of his team spread across the country, everyone he cared about in the world were right here in his cabin. All together. He had had his sisters and their kids around before, but with Jaz here now, it felt different. He felt differently than he ever had. A feeling of contentedness that he had never felt washed over him, and for perhaps the very first time, he had an inkling as to what he wanted his future to look like. And with that came a whole slew of other feelings and emotions and questions and concerns and worries and—hell, he couldn't even describe what else.

He nibbled on some of the snacks they had put out to tide everyone over until dinner time and as always, his gaze fell and stayed on Jaz. She was chatting and whispering to the girls like they had all been best friends for years. Emily seemed to have especially taken a liking to her and vice versa. He had seen Jaz with a few kids on missions over the years and it had always brought out a softer side of her, that she often kept hidden away.

The mission in Nigeria, where they had gone back into the shopping mall to retrieve that little girl stuck out in his memory, as did the rescue of Verina in Adana and Mina and Asim in Paris. On all of those occasions there had been a steely look of determination on Jaz's face; there was no question whatsoever that those kids would be rescued safely. When kids were involved, especially innocently, it made all of them angry and even more determined that usual. And with Jaz, it just resonated even deeper.

Snapping himself out of his reverie, before his thoughts completely ran away with him, he decided it was time to wear these kids out a bit more.

"Ok guys, do you want to play with nerf guns or go fishing off the jetty?"

"FISHING!" They all sang out in unison, surprising him.

"Really? I thought for sure nerf guns would win out."

"But we already know that Jath will win." Sam offered, to which the young girls all cheered.

Jaz smiled widely and shrugged her shoulders when Dalton looked her way. Rolling his eyes at her good naturedly, he shrugged his shoulders too, "Ok, fishing it is."

* * *

The afternoon spent on the jetty was glorious. The sun was warm, the kids were excited and the fish were biting. The adults helped the kids bait their lines and cast off and then sat back and watched on safety patrol as the kids all sat with their little legs dangling off the side of the jetty.

Liv was super proud to catch the first fish and posed with it proudly while Sarah took photos of her. They all thought that Maya would keel over with her excitement when she caught her "first fish ever". She posed _multiple_ times for a photo and couldn't wipe the grin off her face.

Jaz remembered feeling that same way when she caught her first fish. That was when she had first talked to Dalton about Hossein, here on this very jetty. It had been emotional, but the simple task of catching that fish had diffused the emotion and proved cathartic—and that had stayed with her.

As if reading her mind, Dalton came and stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the back of her head. She leaned back against him, and couldn't be any happier in this moment. She was surrounded by this beautiful family that she already loved, and by the man she was in love with. Combine that with this idyllic location and what more could she ask for? She was choosing to ignore that tiny question in her brain that wanted to ask what happened in a couple of months' time.

"Uncle Adam, you hug Jaz a LOT." Maya made the simple observation, as they both looked over at her and reddened slightly.

"That's because they care about each other, Maya." Katie stepped in, and they both looked relieved, and not quite sure how to respond.

"It's cute." Liv observed with a smile on her face.

"It certainly is." Katie agreed with her, flashing big grins at Dalton and Jaz.

Jaz could practically _hear_ Dalton roll his eyes, as he gave her a quick squeeze before stepping away and going to sit between the boys on the edge of the jetty and give them a few tips.

Jaz's flushed face, which she could just _not_ get a handle on today, only deepened as Sarah came and stood next to her, agreeing with Katie, "You guys really are cute."

When Jaz didn't respond, purely through shyness, Sarah continued quietly so only Jaz could hear, "Adam sure is captivated with you. I can't tell you how happy that makes me."

Jaz glanced into her eyes and saw the truth shining there and she answered with a small smile, internally pleading with her cheeks to cool down.

"When we were younger," Sarah started, "Adam took it upon himself to be our protector; to shield us from our father's behaviour and bad habits and the consequences of those habits." She noticed Jaz's face soften in understanding, "And now knowing that he told you about that and about Jessie, makes me so grateful that he has you. He had so much anger. It was probably for the best that he joined the army as soon as he could. I imagine he feels some guilt at leaving us and I would never ask him, but it was always clear that he had his demons, and those shadows just never quite left his eyes. Whatever happened in our family—happened. Nothing can change that. But now I've seen a side of him that I always hoped I would; the fun-loving boy he was when we were much younger. All I've wanted since Jessie died and then our Mom passed away, was just to feel like a family again. This summer is the first time it has started to feel that way. He's different this time. He's always been great with the kids, but there's a new lightness in his face and a warmth in his eyes. And for the very same reason that he has not only introduced us to you, but is comfortable showing how he feels about you in front of us, makes me want to thank you whole heartedly. He's a different person and you've helped him become that."

"He's helped me more than I could ever help him." Jaz responded with a catch in her voice, having taken all of Sarah's words in.

"I wouldn't be so sure. My brother looks happy for the first time in… well I can't even give you a date. And Katie and I both know that it's because of you. We know he loves his job, and it's been both cathartic and an escape for him—one that he clearly needed. But it's this summer that any difference has been noticeable. That's not a coincidence. I would say that whatever it is you're both dealing with—you're helping _each other_."

Jaz didn't know what to say. Hearing this from both of Adam's sisters today had her lost for words. It was as if they could see right into their relationship and she's not sure if that made her happy or if it scared her. It was a lot. She had never had a family that cared. Never had anyone thank her for making someone else happy. The words were foreign. The feelings were foreign. She was still working through her feelings for Adam, but now the feelings that Adam's family were also invoking in her had her… she didn't even know. It was just new.

As if reading her mind, Sarah almost sounded apologetic, "I hope we're not overwhelming you today. I'm guessing two sisters of the guy you're in love with is a lot. I know all the kids together can be a lot, and hell, Katie by herself is a lot on most days."

Jaz both laughed and looked shocked at Sarah's words.

"Yeah, I know you two are supposed to be some sort of a combination of super spies and GI Joe's and Jane's—but that look you both have in your eyes, the whole world can see it." Sarah said simply with a hand on Jaz's shoulder, before smiling knowingly but reassuringly.

She walked away to check on the kid's progress and left Jaz standing there just staring after her. These Dalton's sure all had a way with words and reading people.

* * *

Dinner later that evening was some of the fish they had caught along with a few other meat items that Dalton was cooking on the grill. There was various salads and bread to accompany that and they were all hungry after building up quite an appetite.

They all sat out on the veranda while it was still warm enough, and it was fair to say that dinner with five kids was a lot more hectic than Dalton and Jaz realised. Food needed cutting up, spills needed wiping up, arguments needed diffusing and the adults needed wine. Thankfully for Dalton and Jaz—they could have more than one glass.

Following dinner, Sarah and Katie made sure the kids helped bring everything inside and along with Jaz, they cleaned up and washed all the dishes while Dalton set the kids up with some card games and colouring books. They planned to make s'mores as soon as it got a little darker and for now, a little quiet time was much needed.

When all the dishes were done, Sarah sat at the indoor dining table and just ran her hand over it, feeling all the grooves of the grain in the wood.

"Did you know that this was our mother's dining table?" She asked Jaz, with a lump in her throat.

"I do, Adam told me it's the only thing he has left of her now."

Sarah nodded, "I'm glad he kept it. This is the perfect place for it. The memories around this table are some of the few really happy moments I can remember from when we were kids. It's fitting that it's here now and we are all here, making even more happy memories."

Katie joined them, speaking softly, "I don't remember as much as Sarah and Adam do, I guess being a bit younger I was a little more sheltered from it all, but this table was a central point in our house. Mom was a great cook. And when Jessie died and Dad… uh… when Dad went away, Mom tried to continue on as normal for the rest of us and still put stellar meals on this table. It definitely has special memories."

"Your Mom sounds like she was an amazing woman." Jaz couldn't help but say softly, feeling envious of what the Dalton siblings had had, despite everything else.

"She was." Sarah replied, "And she would have liked you."

"She would have _loved_ you." Katie clarified.

"Yes she would have."

They all turned to look at Adam standing in the doorway, having overheard the last part of their conversation. And there went Jaz's cheeks, once again flushing a deep red.

Looking between the two of them, Sarah stood up and walked towards Adam, "She would have especially loved that she doesn't take any of your shit." And with that she gave her brother a smirk and walked back out to the veranda.

Katie laughed, "She's so right." Before she followed Sarah, leaving Jaz and Dalton alone.

Dalton raised his hands as he walked towards her, "How did that end up with an attack on me?"

Jaz just laughed, loving that his sisters had the ability to put him in his place. There's not many people that have been able to do that to Captain Adam Dalton, and there's even fewer that would get away with it.

"You're just outnumbered," she said simply, but lay her hands on his chest as he stopped in front of her. She stood on her toes to kiss his lips quickly, before attempting to side step him to join everyone else outside.

But Dalton grabbed her wrists and pulled her back against him, "They were right though. My Mom would have loved you. And she definitely would have loved that you don't take any of my shit," he admitted grudgingly.

"I wish I could have met her."

"Me too."

He leaned down to catch her lips in a soft kiss, letting his immense feelings for this beautiful woman wash over him.

"Are you guys kissing _again_?"

Dalton pulled back with a sigh and just rested his forehead against Jaz's gently, taking a deep breath. He could feel Jaz shaking with laughter and couldn't help but start to laugh himself.

He looked deep into Jaz's eyes as he pulled away before turning around to look at the little man standing next to them, "Are you Sam or Charlie? I can't remember." He teased as he picked up Charlie and put him over his shoulder fireman style.

"I'm Charlie, Uncle Adam. You should know that by now." Charlie giggled loudly, as Dalton tickled him at the same time and carried him back outside.

* * *

It's fair to say that with the amount of chocolate around their mouths, all the kids enjoyed making and then devouring s'mores. In fact, the same could be said for the adults.

Dalton enjoyed watching the kids make the s'mores with Jaz, Sarah and Katie's help. There was chocolate and marshmallows everywhere, mixed in with a bit of dirt in some cases—but that was all part of the fun.

Katie saw Dalton just standing with a big grin on his face and couldn't help but tease him, "You look happy."

"Yeah, well sugar will do that to you."

"It's not just the sugar. It's Jaz, and it's about time."

Dalton frowned, "What do you mean it's about time?"

Katie just looked exasperated, "Really?"

When Dalton just shrugged in return, Katie filled him in, "Big brother, you may not tell us much about your job, but when you do it's only ever about your team mates. Do you think we didn't notice the change in you when Jaz was first mentioned three years ago?"

Dalton still looked bewildered.

"It was pretty clear she was new to the team, because you had never mentioned her before. But we knew straight away she was different to the others."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your eyes brightened slightly when you spoke her name, and the tone in your voice lightened. You didn't say much—you never do—but what you did say, told us enough. We had been hoping for a long time that you would meet someone, so seeing the way you reacted to the elusive Jaz, who we had no idea about, was encouraging."

Dalton still looked slightly bewildered. His poker face was pretty good given his job and the situations they found themselves in on missions, so it was annoying that Katie had picked up on something so early on. The fact that it was well and truly before _he_ even picked up on it was especially irritating. Not that he was irritated at Katie, more so at himself.

It seemed to be a recurring theme amongst both his teammates and family that they had all apparently seen or sensed something between him and Jaz very early on. He wasn't going to deny that he had taken to her straight away. Something had instantly drawn him to her, and perhaps looking back it was their dedication to the military and the sanctuary it had provided them both. Regardless, he was beginning to think that in matters of the heart, he was definitely behind the eight-ball.

Katie watched his facial expression and couldn't help but laugh, "You're pissed that we figured it out so soon, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't say I'm pissed— _annoyingly impressed_ is probably more like it."

"Well I'll take that compliment. And for the record, Jaz is amazing. You two are great together, hold onto her."

He felt his cheeks redden and just smiled. He had every intention of doing just that—for as long as he could.

* * *

A fire was lit and keeping a safe distance from it, other than to toast the marshmallows, the kids all sat around it. Patton was stretched out between Sam and Charlie, lapping up all the petting and attention they were giving him. Jaz sat crossed legged on the floor, with Emily having crawled into her lap, while Liv stood behind her, braiding her long hair. Similarly, Katie sat on the floor next to them, while Maya attempted to braid her hair, under the tutelage of Liv.

Dalton was sitting on the veranda steps, surveying the group in front of him, and Sarah plonked herself down next to him, having just made herself a cup of tea.

"Great day big brother."

"It's been fun."

Sarah looked at him sideways, "Really?"

Dalton chuckled, "Yeah I'm serious. I'm not going to pretend I'm not exhausted, I don't know how you do this all the time, but it really has been great."

"I would have thought with your job, you'd be used to the exhaustion."

"This is a whole different kind of tired that I haven't experienced before. Guess I never really appreciated what it took to raise a family. You're doing a great job, Sarah. Katie is too."

"Thanks." Sarah said softly, quietly touched. Granted, they didn't see each other very often, but the compliments her brother handed out were sparing. But again, maybe this was just the effect that Jaz was having on him.

"So, Jaz is pretty great."

Dalton kept his eyes on the group in front of him and nodded in agreement, "Yeah she is."

Sarah watched her brother. She watched him watching Jaz.

"You're different," Sarah said quietly, "You're different with her."

Dalton took a deep breath, not used to having these conversations, and definitely not used to having these conversations with his sisters. But it was about communication, right? And that's what he was working on. That's what he and Jaz were both working on. And if he wanted some of the demons of the past to stop rearing their ugly heads, and some of the guilt he felt with his family to heal, then maybe he should start talking to them.

"She just snuck up on me. My _feelings_ for her just snuck up on me." He admitted as Sarah just nodded her head knowingly. "With her, I've found something that I didn't even know I was looking for."

He was quiet a moment as that sentiment settled over him and shook his head slightly in surprise. He's not sure if he had even realised that himself until he just said those words out loud. He watched Jaz, playing with Emily as she sat in her lap, and talking to his other nieces and nephews and the unmistakeable feeling of contentment he had been feeling for much of the day, was even stronger.

"I'm in love with her, and that scares the fuck out of me."

Sarah couldn't stop the smile that washed over her face. Hearing her brother speaking like this, warmed her heart and made her hopeful that perhaps her big brother would finally experience all the great things that life had to offer, despite what they had been through in the past.

"Well that's what love will do to you."

"It's definitely been a rollercoaster."

She leaned over and nudged his shoulder with his, "Welcome to adulthood."

Dalton huffed out a laugh and looked at her, "It was about time right?"

"Well it's a marathon, not a sprint, but I was beginning to wonder if it would ever happen."

"Me too, if I'm being honest."

Sarah continued to watch her brother's face, but the smile dropped from hers as she battled with what she wanted to ask him. She wondered if she should bother, she wondered if it would make him angry. But the realist in her couldn't hold back.

"As much as I love seeing you like this," she started tentatively, "and how happy it makes me that you've found Jaz and knowing you feel this way about Jaz—I need to play the devil's advocate."

Dalton looked at her curiously.

Sarah took a deep breath, drawing courage from who knows where to say and ask what she needed to, "It's no secret that romances in the military are frowned upon, and I'm guessing it's even stricter amongst team mates, especially of differing ranks. So what happens when it's time for you to be team mates again? What happens when you redeploy?"

* * *

 **Nothing like a sibling to bring you crashing back to reality, right?!**

 **Did you pick up the throwback? It was Dalton's Mom's dining table that he first told Jaz about way back in Chapter 5. I knew I would bring it back up eventually, just wasn't sure how until I wrote this chapter. The next chapter will wrap up the day at the cabin, and give Jaz and Dalton some tine alone to process a few things.**

 **Thanks to all of you who read, leave kudos and especially those of you who leave comments. I appreciate you all so much. Thanks for going on this adventure with me. Much love XXX**


	51. Chapter 51

**Happy weekend everyone - hope it's a great one! Here's the next chapter. It picks up right where the previous one left off, so as always you may want to re-read that again to get your bearings.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 51**

" _It's no secret that romances in the military are frowned upon, and I'm guessing it's even stricter amongst team mates of differing ranks. So what happens when it's time for you to be team mates again? What happens when you redeploy?"_

Sarah's words weren't so much as a shock to Dalton, but more so unexpected. He had expected that question from someone else.

From Jaz.

From McG.

From Amir.

From Preach.

But not from his sister.

After a moments silence, mulling it over in his head, all he could do was answer her truthfully.

"I don't know."

And that was the honest truth, as painful as that was. It's not that he hasn't thought about it. How could he not? But he had been so focused on their relationship and enjoying every moment, and just caught up with the thrill of just _being_ with Jaz, that the logistics of it all is something he had been putting off.

He knew they couldn't do that forever. He was under no illusions that it would be a walk in the park. But he wouldn't make excuses for allowing himself to feel what he felt _for_ Jaz and _with_ Jaz. He had never felt like this, about anything or anyone, and now that he knew what it felt like to love, what it felt like to be _in_ love, he's not sure he ever wants that to end.

Sarah reached out and put her hand on his hunched shoulders, sensing the unease and confliction, and he glanced across at her in response. She offered a small smile and said quietly, "I get it, I do. Just don't leave it too late to start figuring that out."

Dalton nodded in acknowledgement of her words. He knew she meant well and was looking out for him. He knew that both Sarah and Katie were genuinely happy for him and both certainly seemed to like Jaz. The kids appeared to love Jaz and she seemed to honestly like all of his family in return.

He wasn't sure how much longer they could ignore what was ahead for them. They have been so caught up in living in the moment, enjoying each other's company and working on their healing—and for now that was paramount. Sooner or later they would have to start thinking about what the future held for them. But he wanted to bask in this glow for a little longer yet.

"I hear you. I do." He reassured Sarah, "I just want to enjoy being with her, I just want to enjoy _this_ a little longer."

"Like I said, I get it. Just look after yourself ok. Look after each other." She smiled softly at him before getting up and joining the others.

Dalton watched her go and despite the questions she had raised he couldn't help but smile after her. He was the oldest. He was the one who should be looking after his younger sisters, but as history had dictated, Sarah had taken it upon herself to be the mother figure in the family; to watch out for her siblings. Despite his guilt that she had felt the need to be that person, he couldn't help but be proud of her. She was a strong, centred and capable woman and he vowed then and there to stay in contact with both her and Katie more than he currently does.

* * *

Not long after the youngest of the kids started yawning, Sarah and Katie decided it was time to hit the road and get them all home for bed.

Gathering all the paraphernalia that had been strewn around took a little time, but before long they were ready to say their goodbyes.

Emily asked Jaz if she could say bye to Cass, and holding her arms up to her, Jaz picked her up, settled her on her hip and headed into the kitchen.

The boys took a long time saying goodbye to Patton, once again indulging the dog in endless belly rubs.

"Can we come and see him again, Uncle Adam?"

"Sure thing, buddy. You can do that real soon ok."

Charlie smiled widely at his response and Sam seemed just as happy.

Katie was watching Jaz with Emily through the doorway and said, "I'm fairly certain I've got a little girl who is going to want to visit a pet fish real soon too."

Dalton laughed, "Anytime."

"You might have a rival for Jaz's affections. Em seems quite taken with her."

"Yeah she does." Dalton agreed with her softly as he also watched the two of them inside the kitchen.

Katie looked at him knowingly with a pointed smile, and Dalton knew straight away what she was trying to insinuate. Typical Katie letting her imagination run away with her.

"Don't look at me like that, we are only just figuring _ourselves_ out."

And that's all he needed to say. Smiling in return anyway, she stepped forward and hugged him and thanked him for such a great day. He smiled ruefully and hugged her in return. Katie's enthusiasm was both annoying, but at the same time—the best part of her.

Jaz and Emily walked back outside then and Katie told her to say goodbye to Jaz. She turned from where she was settled on Jaz's hip and wrapped her small arms around her neck so tightly it surprised Jaz. She hugged her tiny body in return before handing her back over to Katie. Emily's eyes were starting to droop so Dalton gave her soft cheek a quick kiss so Katie could get her strapped into her car seat.

Once she was buckled in, Katie came over and gave Jaz a big hug goodbye.

"It's been so great,' She whispered in her ear, "And I know I said it earlier, but you two really are the cutest ever."

She stood back and let Maya hug the both of them, before they climbed in their car and drove off home.

Sam and Charlie had to be almost physically pried off of Patton to say goodbye to their Uncle and Jaz.

"Thanks for the water pistol's Uncle Adam." Charlie said, still excited by them.

"You're welcome, buddy."

"You're pretty cool for a girl, Jath." Sam said earnestly.

Jaz did her best to hold back her laughter and replied, "Thanks, you're pretty cool too."

Olivia and Sarah both stepped forward and hugged Dalton and Jaz. Sarah gave her brother a long, knowing look before going over to her SUV to make sure the boys strapped themselves in properly.

"Thanks for letting me braid your hair, Jaz. You have such pretty hair. And thanks Uncle Adam for teaching me how to fish. I've had lots of fun today."

"We have too, Liv. We'll see you soon ok." Dalton said to her as she flashed them one last smile before hoping into the car.

Sarah pulled out of the cabin's driveway and with one last beep of the horn, their car disappeared down the long driveway and back towards town.

* * *

Dalton and Jaz turned to each other and both looked a little shell-shocked.

"I'm fucking exhausted." Dalton breathed out.

"I'm so glad you admitted that first." Jaz sounded relieved as she slumped into one of the chairs on the veranda.

Thankfully, his sisters had insisted on the kids helping to clear up before they all went home, so the cabin and its surrounds were pretty much back to the way it usually looked. They were both thankful for that because neither of them had the energy to clean tonight.

Lifting Jaz off the chair she had just sat on and rearranging her so he sat back in the same chair with her on his lap, he wrapped her up and they sat peacefully for a few minutes, just enjoying the quiet.

"Thank you for indulging my family." He said softly after a few more minutes.

"No thanks necessary. They're great."

"So they didn't scare you off?"

"It takes a lot for me to scare, you know that."

"So Katie and Sarah didn't give you the third degree?"

"No in fact, they told me a few things about you."

Dalton frowned, "What did they say?"

Jaz couldn't help but smile at the tone of his voice, "Don't worry, nothing bad. But I think it's safe to say they're happy we're together."

"That's true." Dalton agreed. Even though Sarah had asked him some difficult questions, she had also made it clear that she liked Jaz a lot. As for Katie, she would have them married off in a snap of her fingers if she could.

"I'm pretty sure all the kids like you better than me too." He continued.

"Understandably."

Dalton snorted, "Vain queen never seemed so fitting."

She slapped his chest in response and he laughed and grabbed her hand to hold it close to him.

"I'm pretty sure Sam and Charlie want to _be_ you. They pretty much followed you around like puppy dogs all day. They even look like you."

"Yeah, the Dalton genes are strong with those ones."

"Ok Yoda."

She giggled when he tickled her in response and the sound of it had him smiling wide.

"I love you."

Her smile sobered slightly at the change in tone of his voice. His eyes bore into hers and he still clutched her hand against his chest while his other hand grasped her waist.

Those words still had the ability to stop her in her tracks, and if she was honest, they still surprised her. They had rolled so easily off his tongue and she still couldn't believe they were _here_.

Together.

Alone.

In love.

It was like an alternate reality; one that she didn't ever want to return from.

She placed her free hand on his cheek and leaned forward to kiss him. It started as a quick peck, followed by a few more quick tastings of his lips. Pulling back to look back into those beautiful blue eyes, she felt herself start to drown in them. This feeling was now so familiar, and she knew what was going to happen next was inevitable. And who was she to fight inevitability?

Moving her face back to his again, she tasted his soft lips, slowly massaging them with her own and feeling his mouth move in time with hers. Changing the angle of her face she tasted him even more deeply, letting her lavish tongue explore his mouth and she smiled as she heard him moan against her mouth.

"I love you too," she breathed into his mouth, smiling as his grip on her became even tighter.

With a grunt, he positioned her so she was straddling him, before standing up so her legs were wrapped around him. He strode into the house, his hands gripping her taught behind to balance her weight, and he didn't put her down until he reached his bedroom.

 _Their_ bedroom.

Lowering her to her feet, he crushed her mouth with his, devouring her lips, the taste of s'mores still lingering on them. His hungry hands roamed her body, moulding her body to his and grabbing at her clothes. He lifted her tank top over her head so fast, their lips barely left each other, and she followed suit with his t-shirt.

Guiding her towards the bed with a few steps, he reached for the button fly on her denim shorts and yanked them down so quickly, she almost laughed.

"In a hurry?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. I've been wanting to do this all day."

He took one more step so she lost her footing on the bed behind her, Dalton landing on top of her, and they both couldn't help but laugh, as their lips found each other's again. Quickly falling back into their desire for each other, Dalton's firm and capable hands roamed her smooth, nearly naked body.

He kissed his way from her long supple neck, across her décolletage, unhooking her bra in the process. His soft but firm lips, as always left their mark on every one of her scars before taking each of her nipples into his mouth. Paying each of them special attention, biting them softly, electric shocks ran through Jaz as he both kissed them lovingly and sucked them hard. She gasped as her body once again jolted with electricity and she instinctively lifted her hips to grind against his own, desperately attempting to appease the ache deep inside of her.

Smiling at the way she responded to him, he continued making his way down her body, running his tongue along her smooth and taut stomach littered with goose bumps. As he kissed his way even further down, she opened her legs wider in anticipation of what he had to offer her.

He pushed the fabric of her panties aside, too impatient to remove them right now and instantly pushed his tongue firmly against her clit, revelling in the sweet taste of her. She gasped beneath him, the feel of his probing tongue causing her so such pleasure that it had her groaning in approval, egging him on even more. They both knew instantly that she was going to come quickly, and he flicked at her swollen bud to help her along. Her thighs started to tighten in spasms and she pressed herself even more forcefully against his tongue, craving his touch, as her stomach tensed with the beginning of her orgasm

Sensing this, he moved his tongue faster, undulating in time with the rhythm her body was dancing to and he felt the very moment she gave in to the deep, rapid contractions that overtook her entire body making her back arch as she pushed herself even further against his tongue.

His strong hands held her in place as she quivered under the mastery of his touch. Tiny gasping sobs came out of her lips, her body a delicious and satisfying ball of tension. She gripped the bed sheets tightly in her hands while she rode the wave of surging tension, rippling through her body.

He pulled away to let her catch her breath, and in doing so, pulled her panties all the way down her body so she was finally completely naked. Following suit with his own remaining clothes, he sat back on his heels taking in the sight of this beautiful creature in front of him.

Her luscious breasts were engorged with desire, her skin was tinted pink from her orgasm and her legs were still spread apart, inviting him closer, like she was a magnet.

The sight of him completely naked, and his cock so swollen and virile, had her leaning forward and pulling him back to her, her need not completely met yet. Their eyes locked, his eyes darkening with his longing for her, bathing in the beauty of her gaze.

His need to be inside of her, to feel her wrapped around him was overwhelming and with an impatience he wasn't proud of, he entered her in one swift movement. He plunged deep inside of her, letting out his own low groans as she gripped him like a velvet vice.

"Jaz." His one word was more of a moan, a gasp, as the feel of being deep inside of her was still so astounding to him.

Her answering moan was a little surprising to her, as she had only just come down from her orgasm, but his delicious weight on top of her pinning her to the bed, and the feel of him inside her, had her almost instantly in ecstasy once again.

She could barely keep her eyes open, lost in the feel of him moving in and out of her. There were little licks of heat in her thighs and an entire furnace where she cradled him.

He moved harder and faster and she ran her fingers down the length of his back, holding his ass and pressing him even further into her. He felt her coil her legs tightly around him and he kissed her even harder, demanding, seeking and taking everything she had to offer.

He drove even further and faster and felt her telling flicks of her orgasm like an electrical shot to his most intimate member. She ripped her mouth from his as the pleasure became too much for her to stay quiet. As she gave in to the gathering storm inside of her, she threw her head back and almost howled. The lightning strikes and rolls of thunder within his own body gave way at that and he joined her in her howls as he spilled himself in side of her, tensing up as the rhythmic spasms of their union grew tighter and tighter.

"Fuck, you're amazing," he spoke gruffly, as the blurs in his vision started to clear and his focus was once again set on this stunning woman beneath him. His kissed her passionately, his tongue circling hers as she kissed him back with just as much passion.

As Jaz's own vision cleared, she managed to whisper, "So are you."

Still clinging tightly to him, her body shivered. Dalton pulled away slightly and rolled them over so he was lying on his side. He pulled her with him and gathered her close to his chest as they concentrated on returning their heart and breathing rate back down to normal.

His hand made slow circles on her back and the warmth he spread through her made her even more comfortable and sleepy. Before long he heard her breath become much deeper and slower and peering down his eyelashes at her, he saw she had fallen asleep. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and pulled her even closer as he felt himself start to give in to slumber. It had been a big day and ending it like this was the icing on the cake.

* * *

A couple of hours later, when it was still before midnight, they both stirred. They'd fallen into a deep nap after ravishing each other, but it had still been relatively early. Getting their bearings in the now pitch black bedroom, it was Jaz's loud stomach rumble that broke the silence and had them both chuckling.

"Hungry?"

"I shouldn't be. I feel like we did nothing but graze on food all day today."

"Yeah, but we also kept busy all day with mini humans and if my memory serves me correctly, we also worked up quite an appetite a couple of hours ago."

"Huh, yeah I vaguely recall that."

"Only vaguely huh?" Dalton teased as he leaned over and nuzzled his beard into the crook of her neck, knowing this made her ticklish. Her answering giggles only encouraged him and kissing her neck transformed the giggles into groans, which only halted once her stomach let out another loud growl.

Laughing, Dalton pulled away and dragged her up with him, "C'mon, let's go raid the fridge. You need sustenance."

Throwing her one of his t-shirts, which she quickly slipped over herself while he pulled on a pair of boxers, they padded out into the kitchen, to hear Patton in his own bed—snoring.

"Looks like we aren't the only ones who are exhausted." Jaz laughed.

She sat herself up on the kitchen bench while Dalton started pulling all sorts of food out of the fridge and pantry. With it all spread out in front of them, they popped a couple of beers and fed their hunger.

They laughed and recalled moments from the day, but seeing a small smile on Jaz's face, that she was clearly trying to hide, Dalton had no choice but to ask her about it.

"Nothing." She tried to throw him off, looking away.

"Jaz."

This time she had no choice but to look at him as he stood between her legs and demanded her attention.

Smiling coyly and with a hint of pink in her cheeks, she just shrugged, "Katie seemed to think that this," she indicated between the two of them, "all started three years ago. And I'm pretty sure that Sarah thinks the same too."

When Dalton squinted with confusion, she relayed the conversation she had had with both his sisters and he smiled when they sounded much the same as the conversations he had had with them too.

"Well, maybe there's some truth to that. We just didn't know it at the time." Dalton couldn't help but admit, because he knew damn well that there was a _lot_ of truth to it. He may not have known it at the time, or even been aware of it—but looking back he did know that as soon as Jaz joined their team, a protective instinct, greater than ever before had settled over him wherever and whenever she was concerned. As the missions and years had racked up, he became more and more conscious of it, with Tehran sealing any doubts that he might have had. The thought of losing her had been unbearable and unacceptable and if breaking or bending rules had been the only way to get her back, then so be it. He didn't regret any of it. How could he? This incredible woman was sitting right her in front of him and he had never felt a love so undeniable and pure.

Recalling his own conversation with his sisters, particularly with Sarah, his own cheeks took on a hint of pink.

Seeing this, Jaz couldn't help but exclaim, "Spill."

Chuckling, but relaying his own conversation with Sarah, he took delight in the widening of Jaz's eyes and the reddening of Jaz's cheeks.

Grasping her waist and sliding her even closer to him, he had no problem confirming it all to her, albeit with a lump in his throat, "It's all true, Jaz. I've genuinely found something with you that I didn't even know I was looking for; that I didn't even know existed or that I needed. But now, I can't imagine my life without it, or without you. My feelings for you snuck up on me and being in love with you scares the fuck out of me. But it's also the greatest thing I've ever known."

Jaz's eyes shone with unshed tears, her own throat filled with a lump she was having trouble swallowing. She never thought that _this_ would be something she would experience in her life. Placing her hands on his checks, with a hitch in her voice, she managed to choke out, "It's all the same for me too," before kissing him to make up for all the other words she just didn't have right now.

Everything he had said to her was exactly how she felt, and as she desperately melded her lips with his, she let the tears roll down her cheeks. Tears for the small child who had never know her own family's love. Tears for the teenager who had come to the conclusion that love was just a foreign concept. Tears for the young woman who had lost the only person she thought had ever cared about her. But most of all, happy tears for the woman she was now, sharing all these first experiences with this incredible man.

This incredible man who she was deeply and completely in love with.

Their lips remained fused together for a long moment, both of their hearts pounding with emotion. Dalton's hands were now on Jaz's cheeks and as they slowly pulled away, his thumbs wiped her tears away as she gazed into his eyes, similarly glistening with feeling.

"Been quite a day, huh?" He whispered.

She just nodded in agreement.

He kissed her again softly and lingeringly and they basked in their closeness.

In their love.

Pulling away he lowered his hands to her knees, and his thumbs instinctively sought out the scars on both sides of her left knee. He met her gaze and they were reminded of earlier today when they were in this exact position. Dalton had been about to ask her about them, before receiving a text message from Katie.

Then later in the day, Sam and Charlie had asked about them, before Emily kissed them better. Dalton knew that had Jaz choked up at the time, but the kids were so innocent to it all, that she had taken it in her stride and didn't let it ruin her day.

But now, here in the kitchen, where it was just the two of them again, Dalton couldn't help but be curious. He had wanted to ask her about them for a long time, but she had always seemed so closed off about it. She didn't talk about her childhood at all, and he knew that if those floodgates were opened, he had absolutely no idea what direction it would all take.

Jaz felt his thumb brushing against the scars on either side of her knee and looked down at them. They were old and the scar tissue was thick, and even though his soft touch against them was comforting, drawing attention to them brought their occurrence to the forefront of her mind.

It had been years since those last scars on her knees had healed, and yet she could recall vividly how each one occurred. She had never told anyone how she got them, and it wasn't until today with both this morning's moment, and then with the kids at the lake that she had actually thought about sharing those memories.

Lifting her eyes to meet his, she could see the question and the concern in the depths of his cerulean eyes. She watched him inhale slowly before raising one hand back up to her cheek, while the other remained on her knee.

In a soft and gentle voice, he ventured tenderly, "Tell me about these scars, Jaz."

* * *

 **So the end of their day with Dalton's family took a different direction than I thought it would, and as a result, the next few chapters have also taken a different direction. That will make sense in the next chapter.**

 **Thank you all for sticking with me and for your views, kudos and comments - they giving me so much motivation and I appreciate every single one of you. Sorry I haven't had a chance to respond to your last comments yet - but don't let that stop you from commenting on this chapter ;)**

 **Much love as always XXX**


	52. Chapter 52

**Hi lovelies! I don't always update weekly, but at the moment I have a few chapters written in advance, so here you go. It picks up right where the last chapter ended, so give that one a re-read if you need to.**

 **Here's a TW for physical abuse. It's retrospective, but wanted to give you a heads up just in case.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 52**

" _Tell me about these scars, Jaz."_

Dalton hoped that she wanted to share the details with him, but quickly thinking better of it, he didn't want to push her into sharing something she wasn't ready to share.

"I mean, if you want to tell me how you got them, that's ok. But if you don't want to tell me, that's ok too." He clarified.

Jaz didn't respond straight away. She inhaled and exhaled long and deep several times, thinking it over before finally confiding, "I've never told anyone about them. Elijah asked once, but I brushed him off. I've never hidden them away, but I guess it's always been pretty clear that I don't want to talk about them."

"Like I said—"

"I want to tell you." She interrupted him softly. "You've seen all my scars. Every single one of them. You're the _only_ one who has seen them all."

He watched her face and he could see her struggling for the words.

Her eyes dropped down to her hands, she was clenching them so tightly they were nearly white. This was a big step for her. She was about to reveal her biggest shame. She'd never met anyone she had even thought about revealing this to, never met anyone she'd even _considered_ revealing this to.

But she'd never met anyone like Adam Dalton.

"It was my Dad." She whispered finally, her voice shaking as she did so. Her eyes were still cast downward, still staring blankly down at her hands.

Dalton clenched his jaw. He'd always suspected this based on a few details in her file that only he was privy to, and she had alluded to as much when they were in DC seeing Xander, but her confirmation was still staggering… and heartbreaking.

"He hated me the moment I was born a girl, and that never changed. These were all from him, or a direct result of his actions at least," she continued after a breath. "This one," she indicated pointing to circular scar on the inside of her knee, "was from his cigars. He thought it made him look more important by smoking a cigar instead of a cigarette. He laughed each time he did it."

She took a deep breath before continuing, "The first time I cried for hours, it hurt so much. But other than it being cleaned and bandaged by my mother, it wasn't even acknowledged that it had happened. The following times, I cried less and less each time. I learned that the less I reacted, the less pleasure he took from it. It was clear that no one cared."

"Not even your mother?" Dalton asked incredulously, but gently.

Jaz shook her head, "She wouldn't even look me in the eye as she cleaned me up. I think she was worried about what he might do to her.'

Dalton's nostrils flared and his breath felt tight in his chest. Hearing the truth from Jaz's mouth was much worse than just suspecting what had happened.

But she wasn't done yet.

Pointing to the longer scar next to the cigar burn, "He threw his ashtray at me. I was sitting cross legged on the floor, and I was blocking his view of the TV. The ashtray shattered on the floor in front of my leg and a sharp corner rebounded and gave me this gash."

Her hand moved to the outside of her knee, where a longer, deeper scar cut through her smooth, tanned skin. It was the largest scar on her body. The many scars that Arthur's minions had left behind were small, and while they would remain, they would never be as obvious as this one.

"This is from when he threw me against a mirror because he caught me looking in it."

Dalton instantly clenched his hands into fists. He was careful not to put Jaz off continuing her story, but he couldn't completely hide how he felt.

"I hit the mirror face first, and put my hands in front of my face to protect it as it shattered. I had minor cuts on my forearms and I was too caught up in the blood on my arms that I didn't notice the big piece of glass sticking out the side of my leg. My Mom had to take me to the hospital for that one. I needed thirteen stitches."

"What did she say to the nurses and doctors when they asked what happened?" Dalton asked gruffly.

Jaz was looking down at her hands again, and he watched her shaky intake of breath before she answered him, "She said I was running around the house and just tripped. I was still young so they didn't even question it."

Dalton could feel his blood boiling. How any parent treats their child that way is one thing. But how another defends that abuse, or denies it, is just as bad, if not worse.

"After that, it didn't stop, but the visible signs weren't as obvious. There were a lot of bruises, a broken wrist, but it was all put down to just being a clumsy kid. I woke up one morning and my long hair was gone and I was left with hair a similar length to yours. My mother couldn't look me in the eye, and unless he was being abusive, my father didn't even acknowledge my existence. I left as soon as I could and I haven't seen them since."

His heart ached for what she had been through, and needless to say, his own initial thoughts towards her father were of blind rage and fury. What he wouldn't give to be left alone in a room with that man. But he tried to keep a cap on that in front of Jaz.

Dalton unclenched one of his fists to reach out for her hand; unfurling her own fingers from where her nails dug into her palms and encasing them in his. She finally looked up and met his eyes, seeing the simmering anger in them, but also the tenderness of his love and empathy.

"I'm ok. It was a long time ago." She said, wanting to soothe the rage she knew he was feeling.

 _It shouldn't have fucking happened in the first place—_ is what Dalton wanted to scream out. He knew little about being a parent, but he knew that was _not_ what family was about, and he had his own issues with family.

Instead he just pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms around her. The thought of Jaz being hurt fucking killed him. It had been bad enough in Tehran, but now knowing what her childhood had been like, tore him apart. And he wondered how _ok_ , Jaz really was. He would bet that some of her nightmares stemmed from her father.

He held her tightly, never, ever wanting to let her go. He felt her cling to him in return and finally relax in his arms, burying her head in his neck.

Jaz had never shared that with anyone before. Not one person, and although it didn't change anything and it didn't make it better, it was a relief. A relief that someone knew. A relief that someone knew her story. That someone was _important_ enough to know her story and that she was important enough in return. When she had first met Adam Dalton, she wouldn't have guessed that he would be the one she would share this with. But here now, wrapped in his warmth and inhaling his soothing scent, she couldn't imagine sharing it with anyone else.

* * *

Jaz lay curled up on Dalton's chest, her steady and deep breathing letting him know that she was asleep. He wished the same could be said for him, but he was wide awake.

He could not let go of what Jaz had told him earlier. He could feel his blood boiling under the surface after finally having confirmation of what Jaz's life had been like.

He lay looking at the ceiling, gripping Jaz tightly in his arms, clenching and unclenching his jaw trying to remember what Xander he told him to do when he had these dark thoughts. He could write in his journal, but that would mean putting the lamp on and he didn't want to wake Jaz. He tried concentrating on his breathing, inhaling and exhaling deeply, but that wasn't working either. Instead, he gave Jaz a quick squeeze, kissing the top of her head softly, before easing her off his chest and onto the mattress. He crept out of the bed and bedroom, channelling his inner ninja, and headed straight for the back veranda, gulping in the clear night air as soon as he opened the door.

He walked straight over to the edge, placed his hands on the railing and tilted his head skyward. The blanket of stars shining above him were a catalyst in allowing him to breathe; his breaths having been clipped since Jaz first told him about her scars.

He had his own issues with his own father; even long before the car accident that had killed Jessie, but he had never witnessed his Dad _intentionally_ abusing anyone. He had never laid a hand on any one of them, and even though he knew his Mom had put up with a lot, she had never been tainted by his hands, or his fury. Even when Jessie had been killed, he had been distraught. He knew it was his fault. He accepted blame instantly and had shown regret ever since. That's not to say Dalton had let him back in his life, but he knew with certainty that his father would have never injured someone deliberately. With intent. For his own deluded pleasure.

Dalton was enraged at what Jaz had shared with him. He'd come into contact with some absolute mother fuckers over the years, but in his eyes, none more so than Jaz's Dad—and he hadn't even actually met him.

Closing his eyes against the images of how he wanted to punish him, he concentrated once again on his breathing. In and out. Slow and steady. He allowed the cool night air to wash over him and diminish some of the tension he was feeling.

He had worked with Xander on trying to control this darkness inside of him, and he was determined not to take a step backward.

He wasn't the least bit surprised when five minutes later he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind. Letting her warmth assist in his soothing, he leaned back into her slightly and took comfort in her.

A few moments later, he felt Jaz place a kiss between his bare shoulder blades and she whispered, "Are you ok?"

He huffed out a laugh, "I should be asking you that."

"And yet it's you standing out here staring at the stars. I know you have something on your mind."

His nostrils flared and he took another long breath in. Leaving one of his hands on the railing, he let his other grip the hands joined on his stomach, allowing her closeness to help alleviate his unease.

"Truthfully," he started, "I'm so angry I couldn't sleep."

After a moment's silence, he heard Jaz's raspy voice, "About what I told you earlier?"

He just nodded and felt her arms tighten around him.

"I feel ridiculous, because it was you that it happened to, not me. But just the thought of you having to endure all that… it makes me—it makes me just so fucking angry."

Jaz knew that even just his admittance of his feelings towards this was a step forward from where he had been at the end of their deployment. His signature move was to act first, explain later. But clearly his sessions with Xander had paid off somewhat because here he was, explaining his anger to her.

"It was a long time ago." She tried to allay.

"Doesn't matter. It shouldn't have happened AT ALL." Dalton yelled into the night sky, thankful that they were so secluded up here as he shook with anger.

Jaz let her arms fall to her side hearing and feeling him like this. Yes, him showing his emotion and sharing his feelings was a good thing, but the fury she could feel radiating off him she empathised with and knew well. She had felt it herself numerous times in her life and she knew when she did, she liked to be alone. To work through it herself.

She took a step backwards, meaning to leave him to his thoughts, when he surprised her by spinning around and pulling her to his chest. He held her tightly, crushing her against him as tightly as he could, and it wasn't until he felt her arms wind around his waist to hold him just as close that he let out another breath.

When Dalton had felt her arms slip away, the loss of her warmth jarred him. He needed her in his arms like he needed oxygen to breathe. It was like this was the only place he knew she was safe. The images he had of her in his head, of the childhood she must have had, replayed themselves over and over and he breathed her in, just trying to replace them.

He ran one hand through her silky, chestnut hair, falling in waves down her back. He knew now why she kept it so long; even given the job they do. He loved her hair. He loved when one of her covers required for her hair to be loose, it was such a striking feature of hers, he couldn't imagine her any other way.

Burying his head in that very same apple fragranced hair, he whispered barely audibly, "I'm sorry."

Surprised, Jaz pulled her head away from his, to look up into his glassy eyes, "You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"I shouldn't have yelled. I hope you know that wasn't directed to you."

"I know that."

He nodded, thankful she knew him well enough to know what he was angry at. He's not sure how to deal with these emotions at the moment, but having her right in front of him, safe and under the stars, was as ideal as it was going to get for now.

He didn't want to take away from what it had meant to him that she opened up. Or take away from what it meant to Jaz to finally be able to share it with someone.

That was what was important right now. And they would deal with this as best they could. Together.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Jaz now lay awake staring at the ceiling.

She looked over at Dalton who had managed to fall into a sleep, albeit fitful, after admitting his anger earlier.

Now, she couldn't get what she had shared with him earlier out of her head. It had been a relief to actually share it with someone after so long; after keeping it all bottled up for so many years. But at the same time, it brought it all back. The early fear. The pain. The devastation. How she had grown to just _expect_ the abuse. How she had just accepted that that was her life.

She had watched Adam with his sisters and their kids. He may not think they are close, and that may be true, but underneath it all there was love amongst them. He loved his sisters and his nieces and nephews, and they loved him in return.

She had seen it with Preach and his family and even McG had it with his Mom and Amir with his parents. But she had no experience of that to speak of. She hadn't even felt remotely cared for until she joined this team. It had been strange and she had been stand-offish to the point of annoyance. Elijah got through all that, and though she hadn't realised it at the time, Dalton had too.

Now that she had shared some of it with Adam, it wouldn't leave her alone. The memories taunted her and seeing how angry it had made Adam, almost made her regret telling him.

Almost.

Realistically, she knew it was right to share it with him. They were communicating and sharing and this was a big part of her past. He had shared his past with her, she had needed to do the same with her own. She couldn't deny it was nice to finally let some of it out and let someone in. And she knew that Xander would be pleased she was doing just that.

But she was back to now not being able to switch her brain off, and she didn't want to go back to where she had been a couple of months ago.

Laying watching the shadows of the night play across the ceiling, she thought about the best way to deal with that.

* * *

It was early when Dalton woke the next morning, and even though Jaz was laying there in his arms, her breathing deep and even, he knew she was awake.

"Hey, did you get much sleep?"

Jaz shook her head softy.

He leaned over to press his lips against her forehead before saying tenderly, "Talk to me."

When Jaz didn't answer other than to snuggle even closer to him, he took it upon himself to try and seek an explanation.

Running a hand up and down the length of her arm, he spoke softly, "You know your scars don't bother me. All that bothers me is _how_ you got them and who gave them to you."

Jaz remained still, just listening to his soothing voice.

"They're scars for a reason, Jaz. They're there to remind you of all the things you lived through, the moments that challenged you. The moments that made you who you are. You're strong. Not many people would bounce back the way you have."

"I've had a few great people to help me bounce back." Jaz whispered softly.

"Yeah, you have. Certainly from Tehran anyway. But what about everything with your Dad. If I'm the only person who you have told, then you haven't had the support you need to deal with that."

"I've survived so far."

"Being able to survive doesn't mean it was ever ok, Jaz." He rolled away slightly and lifted her chin so her weary eyes met his as he continued, "Your past has not defined you, destroyed you, deterred you or defeated you. If anything it has done the exact opposite. It has strengthened you. You're a fighter in every sense of the word, just not for ideal reasons."

She didn't know what to respond to that, but Dalton wasn't quite done.

"If I've learnt anything from Xander over the years, it's that the more you share, the less power it gives to whatever pains you. I think we've both kinda realised that the last couple of months. Like he has continually told us, sharing and communicating is so important in our healing process."

A small smile washed over Jaz's face as she took in what he said, "It's like you read my mind. I've actually been laying here all night thinking and came to the conclusion that I would like to talk to Xander some more. This topic was on my list from my first meeting with him, but we shelved it temporarily to deal with everything else. I think I'm ready to tackle some of this now."

A similar smile washed over Dalton's face too as he gently placed his lips on her forehead once again, "I'm glad."

She looked up into his eyes again for confirmation, "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I think it's a great idea. I'm a big advocate for Xander and the work he does."

"I remember." Jaz stated, remembering how annoyed she was when she first met Xander, knowing that Dalton had sent him over to check on her.

"Surely you've forgiven me for that by now? Look how well it worked out." Dalton teased.

Jaz just laughed that deep raspy laugh that he loved so much. Her eyes looked slightly brighter than they did a few minutes ago and she's glad that Dalton agreed with her wanting to see Xander again.

Sobering slightly, she spoke another point on her mind, "You know you can't come with me this time—to DC that is?"

Dalton nodded, "Yeah, I know."

If he showed up with her in DC, where Patricia, Hannah, Noah and who knows else were lurking, it would be hard to explain why he was accompanying her. There was that giant rain cloud hanging over them, threatening to pour if anything gave it weight.

They still had to play this very carefully.

"I'll be able to see Amir though."

"Let's get some breakfast and then we can ring Xander and see what he has available."

Jaz was happy with this plan. Telling Dalton the history behind her scars had been difficult, but it was the catalyst she had needed to kick start all of this. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she now knew it was necessary.

* * *

Jaz sat on the kitchen bench after breakfast, nursing a cup of coffee and watching Cass swim around happily in her bowl while Dalton was outside clearing away the remnants of last night's fire.

She had her phone in her hand and after another big gulp of coffee, she dialled Xander's number. He picked up within a couple of rings and with a deep breath she launched into what she wanted to ask him.

Just as she hung up the phone minutes later, Dalton came back into the cabin and looked at her expectantly.

"Xander was happy to hear from me. He said he'd been wondering when I thought I would feel ready to tackle this."

"Can he fit you in?"

"Yeah actually, he has time tomorrow and then a couple of days following. I can either rent a car and leave this afternoon or try and catch a flight later tonight."

Dalton was momentarily stunned that she would be leaving today, but quickly shook it off knowing how much she needed this.

"Fly. I'll worry less and then I can spend a little longer with you before you go."

Jaz lowered herself down from the kitchen bench and walked towards him until she was right in front of him, "It's only for three days."

"Right. Just three days."

"You going to miss me?"

"I mean, probably not. If it were three weeks maybe, but three days… that's nothing."

She slapped her hand against his chest and laughing, he grabbed her hand and held it behind her back, ensuring she was flush against him.

Two can play at this game.

"Right. Three days is nothing." She taunted him, while she pressed herself even closer so their hips collided and her breasts brushed against his chest.

Feeling him harden against her hips, she smiled coyly, "Since it's only three days, we can wait to take care of… _that."_ She glanced down to where their hips were fused together before glancing back up to where he was licking his lips, the sudden blood flow to his nether regions making him look a little pale.

"Nope," was all she heard as he crushed his lips to hers. He took full possession of her inviting mouth, massaging it, biting it and making love to it. He guided her to the couch, gripping her tightly so their hips and lips never broke contact, before lowering her down and exploring her; massaging her, biting her and making love to her.

He kissed and cherished every single scar on her body, so tenderly and lovingly, it brought tears to Jaz's eyes. He left her with absolutely no doubt in her mind as to how much he loved her. And the way she responded to him made the depth of her feelings for him crystal clear.

The first man in her life may have let her down horribly, but he intended to make up for that in every way possible.

* * *

 **I obviously took creative licence with the story behind Jaz's scars as we never got to learn more about them on the show - F*** you NBC!**

 **I hadn't been intending on Jaz exploring this part of her story or sending her to see Xander until a bit later on in the story, but after meeting Dalton's family and the kids asking about the scars, it seemed to be the natural progression, so I changed what I had written.**

 **I hope it reads ok, I would love to know what you think.**

 **Thank you for continuing to read this, I appreciate it so much and love waking up to your comments. You're all the best. Much love XXX**


	53. Chapter 53

**So this chapter starts Jaz's sessions with Xander about her childhood. A slight TW incase you might find this upsetting. It's nothing detailed, just touched on. There is a small flashback in italics. Hope you enjoy!**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 53**

Jaz was making her way through the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, after her flight to DC had just touched down. She quickly found her bag on the luggage carousel and made her way towards the exit.

Just outside in the pick-up zone, Amir stood there grinning widely at her. Walking towards him she gave him a big hug, which he returned warmly before both of them got in the car.

"Thanks for coming to pick me up."

"Well it was either this or rearrange Hannah's pantry. You won—just. Her pantry drives me crazy."

"I'm flattered."

They both laughed, before Amir affirmed, "It was my pleasure."

With a smile on her face she took out her phone, "I just need to let Adam know I've arrived."

"Please, he probably had the plane under surveillance."

Jaz couldn't help but laugh loudly, recalling Adam dropping her off at the airport…

 _Dalton pulled his truck up into the drop off zone. He had originally planned to park and go inside the airport with Jaz, but she insisted that wasn't necessary, it was only a few days._

 _They both jumped out and Dalton grabbed her bag from the back, putting it down next to her before gathering her around the waist to pull her close. He wrapped her up tightly in his strong arms and she buried her head against his firm chest—her safe place._

 _They were both just breathing each other in. Dalton was breathing in her fruity apple scented hair and Jaz was breathing in—him. That delicious, masculine, woodsy scent that he permanently emanated._

 _They eventually, reluctantly pulled back slightly to look at each other._

" _You'll be ok?" Dalton wanted to check._

" _I'll be fine. Amir is picking me up from the airport and delivering me to the hotel. And other than my appointments with Xander I'll either be exercising, hanging with Amir or talking to you. Other than when I'm in the air, I'll be contactable at all times."_

" _How do you know I haven't had the plane put under surveillance?"_

" _Well I wouldn't put it past you," she smirked._

 _He smirked back at her, both of them knowing that if he wanted the plane surveilled, he could totally arrange that._

" _I'll miss you." He whispered softly to her, looking deep into her eyes, wanting to make sure she knew that._

" _I'll miss you too."_

 _She leant her forehead against his and just enjoyed being in his arms for a few moments longer._

 _Just as the guard started to wander over to move Dalton and his truck on, Dalton placed his hands on both her cheeks and kissed her softly but firmly. She felt his lips quiver beneath hers and knew hers were doing the same. It might only be a few days, but being with each other had been the most precious time in their whole entire lives. It would certainly feel like longer._

 _When they let each other go, it was with one last kiss, their eyes never leaving the others._

" _I love you."_

" _I love you too." She smiled at him, watched him get back into his truck and drive away before she walked into the airport._

"He didn't?" Amir wanted confirmation.

"Nope… At least I don't think so."

She sent Dalton a quick text.

 _ **Landed safe and sound and now with Amir on our way to the hotel**_ – Jaz

 _ **I know. I have eyes and ears everywhere, remember? ;)**_ – Adam

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile.

 _ **I know you just rolled your eyes**_ – Adam

 _ **Please. Everyone would have rolled their eyes at that**_ – Jaz

 _ **True**_ – Adam

 _ **Having dinner with Amir at the hotel after I've checked in. I'll call you after that**_ – Jaz

 _ **Sure thing. Say hi to Amir for me**_ – Adam

"Top says hi," she passed on as she smiled at her phone before putting it away.

"So things are still great then, huh?"

"What makes you say that?"

"The glow on your face is pretty telling," he observed, the smile still all over her face, "it suits you."

"Ok, yeah, things are great. With him at least."

It didn't take Amir's mastery of observation to figure out that there was a reason Jaz was back in DC to see Dr Martin. She hadn't passed on any details when she told him she would be flying in and he hadn't asked. He knew by now that if Jaz was comfortable sharing something—she would. He didn't pry. She must have her reasons, but he was just happy that she was comfortable enough to reach out to him while she was here.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Jaz had checked in at the hotel—the same hotel the team usually stayed in—had dinner with Amir and was about to call Adam.

Amir and Hannah had offered for Jaz to stay at the apartment with them but Jaz had appreciatively turned them down, knowing that Hannah still didn't know about her relationship with Adam. She didn't want to have to hide anything or make it awkward or uncomfortable for Amir.

Hannah had understood right away that Jaz would want her own space after her sessions with Xander, and Amir knew she needed her space to be able to be free with her contact with Dalton. Jaz would be seeing Amir each day though and would be having dinner with them both the following evening.

"Hi," she greeted Adam as he picked up on the other end.

"Hi. Who's this?"

"Oh you are just hilarious aren't you?" She couldn't help but grin and roll her eyes as she heard him chuckle on the other end.

"I know you just rolled your eyes."

"Again… everyone would have rolled their eyes at that."

There was that laugh of his again. Deep in his throat, rumbling in his chest and she knew the lines around his eyes were crinkling. She missed it already.

"You all settled in the hotel?" He asked, the laughter still evident in his voice.

"Yeah. Just wondering who's on the other side of my adjoining door."

"So am I. If it's McG, don't answer."

She laughed out loud, but couldn't help but feel sentimental for the last time she was at this hotel. Having Adam on the other side of that door had been a game changer. And a relief. And a million other things. She had slept through the night alone in this hotel, knowing that he was right next door.

It was also in this hotel that he had told her he was in love with her and completely rocked and changed her world. For the better.

Knowing what she was feeling and thinking, Dalton spoke gently down the phone, "Hey, you know if you need me, no matter the time, you can call me, yeah?"

"Yeah, I know." Jaz replied softly, the warmth he always incited in her spreading all through her bloodstream.

"Good."

"I should get some sleep, my appointment with Xander is early. Say goodnight to Cassiopeia and Patton for me?"

She listened to him laugh again as he humoured her, "Sure."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Jaz. Sleep well."

She couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she hung up the phone. He made her feel like a school girl with a crush and it _still_ felt so new to her. The way she feels for _him_ still felt so new. It was exciting, and it certainly made drifting off to sleep all alone that much easier.

* * *

The following morning, Jaz made her way to the DIA and was thankful when Xander made her feel instantly comfortable, as always.

"Jaz, it's so good to see you again."

He meant it. Knowing some of Jaz's story and what she had been through had endeared her to him, albeit professionally. He appreciated how truly difficult it had been for her to initially reach out for help, via Sergeant McGuire, and so to do so _herself_ this time around revealed how much progress she had already made.

"Thanks, you too."

"I was glad to hear from you, and I'm guessing this has to do with that remaining dot point on our list? Your Dad." He pushed his notebook forward, indicating the list they had made together during her first appointment with him in DC. They had covered the topics of Hossein, Arthur and Elijah and everything that had come with them.

But this last dot point would have been too much too soon for their last sessions. As advised by Xander, Jaz had lived a little and worked on and practised some of the strategies they had put in place to ease her nightmares. She honestly felt like she had made progress on those and while she knew it would be a continual process for who knows how long, she also deduced that she had the tools to be able to approach this last topic. And by now, she knew Xander was the one to do that with.

Encouraged by Jaz's nodding head, he nodded himself and spoke slowly and purposefully, "Well Jaz, you know how this works. We'll talk about whatever you want to or whatever you need to and it's confidential, unless I have concerns for your welfare. So, where do you want to start with all of this?"

Jaz knew logically that she needed to start at the beginning. She remembered telling him the very first time she had met him in Incirlik, that her father had hated her the moment she was born a girl. So that's where she began.

"My Muslim father couldn't cope with the fact that I was a girl. _The lesser gender_. I don't have one memory of him that contains any warmth, any love, any tiny snippet of affection. Only disappointment and disdain. He ran a bodega not far from where we lived in the Bronx, and I remember thinking that he was nicer to his customers than he was to me. The best days were when he ignored me; when he just pretended I didn't exist. At least those days he wouldn't…"

She trailed off, with a catch in her throat. She was about to reveal something for only the second time in her life, and the first time had only been two days ago with Adam.

Seeing her struggling to continue, Xander gently guided her, "You only have to tell me what you are comfortable with, Jaz."

She appreciated that, but knew she needed to get this out, "At least those days he wouldn't abuse me."

Xander watched her face as she spoke. He wasn't surprised by the confession; he had suspected as much, but he noticed her face fall as she finally confessed her father's shortcomings. In their previous sessions she had initially been stoic and so strong in the way she had approached those sessions. It was only towards the end of the sessions that she had allowed herself to really open up, to really express herself. This time he could see that right away and was heartened in her approach to this.

Just sitting and waiting for her to continue when she was ready, she finally spoke and told Xander everything she had told Dalton—and more. From the first bruise. The burns. The stitches. The fractured wrist. The put downs. The shorn hair. The avoidance and ignorance from her mother. The initial pain. The questioning of why. The eventual complacency. The waiting it out. And the day she walked out the door.

"I signed up for the army as soon as I could, and I haven't been back, or seen or heard from either of them since." She finished off after talking for what felt like an eternity.

Her chest was heaving like she had been running a marathon. To some degree she had; an emotional marathon. She had kept all of this bottled up for so many years, it had all come tumbling out at once. She hadn't realised how emotionally taxing this would be and when she raised her had to brush at a tickle on her cheek, she learned it was a tear and putting both hands to her cheeks, she was stunned at the tears streaming down her face.

Brushing at them quickly, she stubbornly but gratefully accepted a tissue from the box Xander edged towards her. Despite what she had just revealed, despite the tears she was embarrassed about, and despite her aching chest, she was glad it was out. She was proud of herself for speaking her truth; her story.

Acknowledging the enormity of her story and giving it the weight it deserved, Xander left it a few moments before he spoke. He let it just sit; with both himself and her. He knew it wasn't going to be pretty, but to hear the extent of it broke his heart for the tough soldier sitting in front of him.

When he finally spoke, it was with compassion, "Thank you for sharing that with me, Jaz. Owning your story is the bravest thing you can ever do."

Still wiping at the tears, Jaz just mumbled, "Sorry," indicating to the tissues as she plucked another one from the box.

"Never, ever apologise for showing emotion. It shows strength. But I want to start by saying that what happened was not your fault. You were let down very badly by the two people who were supposed to love and care for you unconditionally. You not only suffered physical abuse—that much is obvious—but emotional abuse too.

Jaz tilted her head in question.

To support what he was saying, Xander started to reel off symptoms of childhood emotional neglect, "Loneliness, difficulty connecting with feelings, uncertainty of feelings, feeling out of place like you don't fit in, difficulty asking for help or the need to depend on others. Not to mention high levels of guilt, shame and anger. Feeling unimportant or inadequate, and burying or avoiding your feelings."

Jaz was silently taking in every word, her eyes wide.

"This was not your fault, Jaz." Xander reiterated, softly but firmly.

After a few more moments of silence, Xander continued, "People cannot put traumatic events behind them until they are able to acknowledge what has happened and start to recognise the invisible demons they're struggling with. We've talked about this before, but the more of your trauma that you share, the less power you give to whatever pains you."

"Trauma?"

"Yeah, trauma. Trauma is anything that overwhelms the brain's ability to cope, and your nightmares, the guilt that you've felt due to facets of your job, and your struggle with your internal feelings are all representative of that. I would say that you were forced to mature early because life showed you the worst side of the world at an early age."

Jaz continued to stare at him, taking in his words.

Wanting to further explain, Xander continued, "Due to childhood trauma filled with abuse and neglect, you were prone to possibly missing some development milestones, hence why it can be difficult in adult life to regulate, experience or demonstrate emotions. Sounding familiar?"

Jaz nodded her head slowly.

"There's a concept called trapped trauma. It manifests in our bodies and has a life of its own. When we internalise the abuse or abuser, we remain bonded to them. We continue to re-live and re-create that abuse over and over again, often in our dreams or our subconscious, or just simply in our thoughts and actions."

What Xander was describing made a lot of sense to Jaz. It certainly explained her difficulties in forming and maintaining relationships. It certainly explained her nightmares and protectiveness over children in particular. It also explained her initial wariness of her feelings for Adam, as well as her disbelief that he could actually be in love with her. That she was worthy of such a love.

"We've discussed previously some methods of coping when it all seems too much, and I think it's pretty obvious that you've been practicing some of those. I know you were working on the journaling and being present in the moment; appreciating what you _do_ have as opposed to what you _don't_ have."

Jaz nodded her head once again, knowing that she had definitely been working on both of those strategies.

"Physical activity also assists with reducing any stress you might feel, however I know from the way we first met that that is already a part of your daily routine, so another suggestion would be getting a pet. Now, _I know_ this might be hard considering your job, but they are excellent companions when it all feels like too much. They don't answer back, they offer a sense of safety and they can have a really calming influence on you which can help reduce both physical and psychological reactivity."

A small smile crossed Jaz's face as she began to explain about Patton and how he is basically Adam's dog but she spends a lot of time with him. Then she explained about Cassiopeia.

"Adam bought her for me, and I actually love just sitting and watching her swimming around in her bowl. I find it really peaceful. I can definitely see how pets can assist with trauma."

Xander was really pleased with what he was hearing. Jaz was certainly going about bettering this situation as best she could. Sure, she was a work-in-progress, but she was on her way. He picked his next words carefully.

"In some ways, Jaz, your past has shaped you into who you are now. But you can heal from here. You deserve to heal from here. You deserve to no longer feel controlled by your past. Remember though, it's a process. It's going to take time, but you will make it as long as you don't give up. I know we've mentioned this before, but it's ok to feel however you're feeling about all of this. Anger, resentment, hatred, sadness and whatever else. You can validate the impact of trauma without erasing the fact that you have the power to heal from it. You can do both. But be gentle with yourself, you're doing the best you can."

Xander had such a way of speaking, that even though she had just shared her deep shame, she was feeling instantly calmed and soothed by his words. She was right about the choice to come to DC. It was the best thing she could've done.

"Can I ask one more question?"

Jaz just nodded.

"Have you ever told anyone else about this?"

Jaz face instantly softened and despite the emotion of the last half an hour, a small smile crossed her face, "I told Adam. Just the day before yesterday actually. That's what got this all rolling."

Xander matched her soft smile, "Good. I'm glad."

* * *

Following her first session with Xander, Jaz hit the gym upon returning to the hotel and hit the punching bag pretty hard. Punching things or shooting things was her outlet, and she had a lot to punch out in this circumstance.

She was definitely feeling somewhat better after her session, but exhausted at the same time. It had pulled at some emotions that she hadn't been aware of at the time, that she hadn't experienced in years, but they had taken their toll on her. She felt mentally drained, so getting in the gym helped relieve that. In the space of two days she had shared her story with two people. Both of whom have significantly changed her life for the better. She was determined that now she had started this journey, she was committed to following it through and was curious as to where it would take her.

As she finished up and hung her boxing gloves around her neck to walk back to her room, she saw a text from Adam on her screen.

 _ **Been thinking about you**_ – Adam

 _ **Been thinking about you too**_ – Jaz

 _ **You good?**_ – Adam

 _ **I'm ok. The session with Xander was… emotional but good**_ – Jaz

 _ ***heart emoji***_ \- Adam

 _ **You're like a new man with your emojis**_ – Jaz

 _ **I thought you like my use of emojis?**_ – Adam

 _ **I *heart emoji* your use of emojis**_ – Jaz

 _ **Call me later?**_ – Adam

Jaz hit call on her phone.

"Or now." He answered.

She smiled, "It's later than when you sent me the text."

"That's true. Sure you're ok?"

"Yeah I'm ok. I shared everything that I told you with Xander, and we left it at that today. I'm going to continue with the journaling. He reminded me that it's a powerful tool for healing, as we both know. But also that it's a powerful tool for healing from childhood trauma."

Adam's heart ached at that. He hated the fact that Jaz had been through everything she had. It had made thinking of losing Elijah and her capture in Tehran, all the worse. He wished she hadn't had to experience any of that, but there's no going backwards, just moving forward as best she could.

"Xander once told me that trauma creates change you don't choose. Healing creates change you do choose."

"He said some similar stuff to me today too."

"He's good people." Dalton smiled, even though she couldn't see it.

"Yeah, he is."

"What are you doing the rest of the day?"

"I've just been to the gym—"

"Been punching things?" He interrupted.

"You know it. I'm going to shower and then nap. I'm exhausted."

"Good plan."

"I'm having dinner with Amir and Hannah tonight."

"Amir cooking?"

"I hope so."

They both laughed, and Jaz's heart already felt lighter just speaking with him.

"Go rest up and I'll speak to you later."

"Ok. Hey is Cass ok?"

"Oh right, I better feed her."

"Not funny."

"I thought it was."

"I want picture evidence later that she's alive and well."

"I think I can handle that."

She smiled and said softly, "I miss you."

"I miss you too. A lot."

Not too long later, Jaz practically passed out into a deep nap. She was emotionally drained, and now physically too from her boxing session. Feeling a little lighter and smiling from the beautiful man in her life, she drifted off quite easily.

* * *

Dinner that evening at Hannah's apartment was a lot of fun.

Amir cooked dinner—as if there had been any doubt—and Hannah and Jaz shared a bottle of wine that went perfectly with Amir's homemade pasta.

It was pretty clear that Amir and Hannah were enjoying their time together. Domestic bliss didn't just exist in the Blue Ridge Mountains, it would seem. They seemed so easy and comfortable with each other, it even made Jaz's once cynical heart soften.

She had softened considerably during this bout of leave, but if she was feeling empathy to another couple's relationship, she knew she had come a long way.

It was hard not to envy them for the freedom they had in their relationship. They were free to be open in their affection for one another, when appropriate of course. The entire team knew of their relationship, both the field team and the DC based team. It was a situation that she and Adam could not venture.

Refusing to linger on that now, Jaz zoned back in to the conversation Hannah and Amir were having about McG.

"Surely we have to know someone single to set him up with. He's a good looking guy, he would be a great catch." Hannah mused.

"Good looking?" Amir questioned.

"Yeah. I mean it's just an observation. You agree with me right Jaz?"

"He's like my brother; I don't see him that way."

"Oh come on. You can't tell me that when you first met him, you didn't find him attractive?"

"I guess I could see it. I've just never thought of him like that. But I can see how others would throw themselves at him. Actually I've seen it happen."

"In every country." Amir grumbled.

"You guys have to admit; you have a great looking team. All the men are handsome. Jaz, you're gorgeous. I mean, Dalton right. He's the epitome of ruggedly handsome." Hannah looked towards Jaz again for agreement.

"Oh, umm—" Jaz did her best not to seem flustered, and to try and control the flush in her cheeks, "yeah, I guess."

"I bet he drives women crazy wherever he goes."

"Dessert's ready." Amir interrupted loudly placing an apple crumble fresh from the oven on the table. Jaz could have kissed him for the distraction. Seeing that very intent in his eyes, she silently thanked him, using only her eyes, which he in turn acknowledged in a way only a master of disguising their feelings could do.

"Just to clarify," he spoke to Hannah, "you find _all_ the members of the team handsome?"

Hannah smiled and placed a hand on his cheek, "You're the most handsome."

"That's what I thought." He said quietly before she leaned over and kissed him.

Once again a pang of envy hit Jaz, before she used that delicious apple crumble as the distraction Amir had meant it to be.

Amir had driven her back to the hotel and he was going to see her after her appointment with Xander the next day.

Jaz was eager to get into bed and speak with Adam. They had been communicating nonstop since she had been in DC, but she never would have guessed that she would miss him this much.

Hearing his voice was still one of her favourite things ever and as they spoke, and Jaz told him more about her session with Xander that morning, as well as her dinner with Hannah and Amir, the sense of peace she always felt with him worked its way through her entire body. Granted it wasn't the same as lying curled up with him in bed, but hearing his voice at the end of a long and emotional day made her feel like she actually belonged to something.

Belonged to someone.

She was an equal member in a relationship.

And thinking of what Xander had said to her today about the symptoms of childhood emotional neglect—loneliness, difficulty connecting with feelings, uncertainty of feeling, among others—she knew she was definitely making progress.

If there was one thing she was absolutely sure about, it was that she was completely, profoundly, beyond a shadow of a doubt, in love with Adam Dalton.

* * *

 **Well this one and the following chapter were a little heavy to write, so I hope it reads ok.**

 **I would really love your feedback.**

 **Thanks to all you beautiful people who read, leave kudos and especially those who comment - it is so greatly appreciated.**

 **Much love to you all XXX**


	54. Chapter 54

**Firstly, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for the lovely feedback about the last chapter. It was difficult to write, so I appreciate your comments more than I can say. Sorry I haven't had a chance to reply to them all yet. Secondly, apologies for taking a little longer to upload this chapter than normal - but I hope you enjoy it. As always, I would recommend that you re-read the previous chapter prior to reading this.**

 **I don't own The Brave or any of its characters... But I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 54**

"So how do you feel after yesterday's session?" Xander asked Jaz at their second appointment.

"Truthfully, I was exhausted. Mentally. Emotionally. I actually slept like the dead last night too, which I was surprised at. Having said that, I do feel a little… freer at having shared it with someone—or someone else." Jaz mused.

Xander nodded his head and smiled, "Good".

He was genuinely happy to hear that but he was also amused at her answer. The Jaz he had met in Incirlik was a woman of one-word answers and scowls. This Jaz here and now, thought about her answers and was becoming more comfortable with her own feelings and insights.

"Ok. Why don't you try and share with me the circumstances that led you to contact me about this. I'm assuming something triggered you?"

Jaz took a deep breath. She had been thinking about this. About why _this_ was the right time. About why she had made the decision to talk to Xander _now_.

She knew why. Fuelled with the new confidence she had in these sessions with Xander, she began to speak.

"I met Dalton's— _Adam's_ —family."

Jaz paused then, and Xander let her have that time, to process whatever else she needed to say.

"He has some young nieces and nephews and they noticed the scars on my legs. They asked about them so innocently, like I had just fallen down on the path. They called them _owies_ and then his youngest niece kissed them better."

"Out of the mouths of babes." Xander said softly.

Jaz had a tender smile on her face as she recalled that moment. She remembered the tears prickling her eyes and not been able to answer due to the lump in her throat.

"I know they're just kids, but it was the first time in however long that anyone has seen me without automatically just seeing or knowing me as a soldier; without knowing that the scars, _all the scars_ come with baggage. They asked about them, kissed them better and that was that. They went swimming. It was as simple as that. No big deal. I guess that's how I would like to feel about them, if that's even possible."

Sensing there was more, Xander stayed silent had a look of encouragement on his face. Jaz wanted to smirk. He was good. He knew there was more, and he was right. But what was on the tip of her tongue was something she hadn't shared with anyone, not even Adam.

"I guess…" she started tentatively, "I guess that being with his family made me curious…"

"About what?" Xander encouraged when she hesitated.

"About—about what it might be like to have my own family one day."

After whispering that last sentence, she needed to pause momentarily. She hadn't told anyone that; that much was true. But she hadn't said it out loud either; hadn't heard the words roll off her tongue. That was probably the biggest shock for her.

Seeing her struggle, Xander asked her gently, "Have you ever thought about it before?"

Jaz shook her head, "No. Well not really. I've always assumed that it wasn't a path I was meant to walk down, what with my family and all. Preach asked me about it once and I told him that I'd consider it if I could get it in writing that it wouldn't be anything like mine. I wasn't joking. But then Arthur brought it up when I was being held captive. He told me I was denying myself the chance to find love and have a family. Prior to that I would have laughed in his face, but as he said it, it was like something awoke in me, I hadn't even known I'd _wanted_ that until then. I hadn't given it too much thought until these past couple of days. I have no basis for what a normal family environment is like, what if I was to make the same mistake as my own? What if I'm predisposed to be just like them? What if being part of a family just isn't in my make-up?"

"I would challenge, that you are already part of a family." Xander stated.

Jaz looked up at him.

"I know you're not biologically related, but your omega team is the closest I've ever seen. Family doesn't always have to be blood, and I've seen you with them. You care for them. You would lay down your life for them, and they for you. If that's not family, I don't know what is."

The feeling of warmth that her team gave her washed over her, and she knew his words were true, but…

"But that's not what you meant." Xander read her mind.

"It's just not something I'd ever thought of before or even considered. And yet these mini Dalton's, who I had never met before, showed me such innocent kindness—it's like it just triggered something in me. And then I got thinking about my dad, and then I told Dalton about my scars and saw how angry and upset he was about them, and then it all just started playing on my mind. So here I am, confused as to how I got here, and just… confused." Jaz knew she was rambling, but was glad to get it all out.

"Well I will say that triggers can happen when you least expect them, sometimes at the most frustrating times, but don't confuse your path in life with your destination, Jaz. You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. That's within your power. History only repeats itself if you let it, and I know you well enough by now to know that that's the last thing you want to happen."

"I wouldn't wish my childhood on anyone. I would rather not have a family then let history repeat itself." She confessed.

"Well you may choose to take that path, and I think it would be perfectly understandable if you did. But I would dare to suggest that you would be the perfect person to _ensure_ history wouldn't repeat itself. You said it yourself, you wouldn't wish your childhood on anyone. It may not feel like it now, but you are a survivor, Jaz. You have endured adversity, moved through it and persevered. You're incredibly resilient given the challenges you've been set in life, and I would say that _that_ is what you have to offer any future family. Despite everything, you've remained undefeated and you're in the process of healing. A little tender at times, sure. But who isn't?"

Xander's words are something that Jaz hadn't considered. Her experiences in life, while they have knocked her down, could be the very concepts that ensure she stands successfully on her own two feet. She hadn't thought about it like that before.

When she told him as much, he smiled in that kind, gentle way of his, "Healing doesn't mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives. It all begins and ends in your mind. What you give power to, has power over you, if you allow it."

After once again taking in his words, she smirked at him, "Everything you say always makes so much sense."

"That still annoys you doesn't it?" Xander teased, sensing a lighter moment and they laughed together.

"I have one more question for you, if you'll allow me to ask it." He proposed.

"Do I even have a choice at this stage?" Jaz asked, but only teasing.

Smiling, he continued, "Have you spoken to Adam about this? About wondering what it might be like to have your own family? Excuse me if I'm being presumptuous, but I'm assuming you've wondered about having a family with him."

Jaz looked down at her hands in her lap, the question not stumping her, but being a vivid reminder of their situation. Looking back up at him, she was as honest as she could be, "Yeah it was him I wondered about. And no I haven't spoken to him about it. This was only a few days ago, processing it all has been… well I'm still processing it. And— "

She broke off temporarily, biting her lip while she thoughts for a moment.

"And our situation is still… unclear. Not about how we feel about each other, but about what it means moving forward, long term."

"You haven't had that conversation yet?"

"No." Jaz answered at barely a whisper, Xander sensing the sensitivity of the topic.

"Well look, you've still got time to figure that out. And believe me when I say that I hope it all works out, I'm rooting for you guys. It's your choice whether you reveal your thoughts on family with him or not, of course, but give it some thought."

"I will." She confirmed.

"Be gentle with yourself, Jaz. You're doing the best you can, under so many difficult and extraordinary circumstances."

* * *

Jaz left Xander's office, just as mentally exhausted as she was yesterday. Until this bout of leave she had always kept things buried deep, but now that she was digging into her psyche and her feelings, she was more mentally drained than ever before.

So much so, that she nearly bumped straight into Patricia in the corridor.

"Oh hey, Jaz!" Patricia exclaimed.

"Deputy Director. Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Please, it's Patricia. Is everything ok? I didn't know you were in town." She asked, noticing the weariness on Jaz's face.

"Yeah, I'm just having a few more sessions with Dr Martin."

"Does Dalton know you're here?"

"He does. I let him know I was coming here." She confirmed, not even having to lie.

Patricia looked at her with that way of hers, like she was looking right into your soul.

"Good," she answered quietly, "You let me know if you need anything. How much longer will you be here?"

Jaz wasn't exactly sure, "Another day or two I think. I'll see how it goes with Dr Martin."

"Ok, well make sure to stop in with me before you leave again ok. It's good seeing you."

"Will do. Thanks, you too."

Jaz continued down the corridor and held her breath until she was in the elevator. She hadn't said anything wrong, but Patricia just had that way about her, like she could read your mind. It unnerved Jaz, and while Patricia had never been anything but nice to her, she knew what she was capable of.

* * *

Dalton had spent the morning out hiking with Patton. He had pushed himself relatively hard given all the s'mores he had been eating lately. He had hiked to a view point he had taken Jaz to several times, and as always the view was spectacular. He took a few photos so he could send them to Jaz, but just as he was about to send them, his phone rang.

He smiled as he answered, "Hey, I was just about to send you a couple of photos."

Jaz grinned at the other end and asked a little suggestively, "Oh really?"

"Not _that_ type of photo." Dalton teased.

"What type are you talking about?"

"What type are _you_ talking about?"

"Trees. Mountains. Nature."

Dalton baited her a little more, "Ok, I'll delete the topless ones then."

"Oh hey, let's not be hasty."

They both laughed, and both loved hearing the others' laugh, even if it was down the phone.

"How did your session with Xander go earlier?" Dalton asked softly.

"It was… another mind fuck." She huffed out a laugh before continuing, "I mean, it went as well as these things can go I suppose. There's lots for me to think about. I've actually just been writing in my journal, getting some stuff out while it was still fresh in my mind."

"I've been thinking about you. I know this can't be easy."

"It's not, but it's what I need to do. Tell me about you, what else are you doing with your day?"

Dalton was happy to be a distraction if that's what Jaz needed.

"I'm actually going to Sarah's for dinner tonight. Katie text last night and I mentioned you were away for a few days so of course she assumed that I couldn't take care of myself and insisted I join them at Sarah's tonight. I'll take Patton with me, the boys will love it."

Jaz smiled, almost a little jealous to be missing out on time with them all again, "The boy's will freak out. Sounds like fun."

"I wish you were coming with me." Dalton added wistfully.

"Me too." Jaz agreed quietly, mostly just missing being with him right then.

Dalton could hear it in her voice, "You ok?"

"Yeah, I just miss Cassiopeia."

"Ah, I see how it is."

Jaz smiled at the other end, "I miss you too."

"Oh well that's a relief. I love you, Jaz. We got this, it's just a couple more days." Despite their teasing, he had heard the slight catch in her voice and wanted to reassure her.

"You're right. I'll let you go, but talk later?"

"Definitely."

"Adam?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you too."

Despite missing her terribly, Dalton hung up the phone with a grin that only Jaz could bring to his face. He couldn't even remember what it was like not being with her. That all felt like a different life time. He may not know what the future held for them, but he knew he didn't want to be without her.

He and Patton set back off towards the cabin. He went straight in the shower when he returned to wash off the dirt and sweat and when he finished, with his towel around his waist, a thought crossed his mind and he did something he had never, _ever_ done in his life. And never, _ever_ thought he would.

He took a mirror selfie.

What the fuck had happened to him?

Feeling a little ridiculous, but cheeky at the same time, he sent Jaz the pictures from the viewpoint, and then sent his selfie too, before throwing his phone on his bed with a shake of his head. What was she doing to him? Thank fuck McG couldn't see him now. He would _never_ live it down.

* * *

The smile on Jaz's face when she saw the selfie could have lit up the entire solar system. She couldn't stop staring at it. I mean who could? Adam Dalton was a mighty fine specimen. She was one of the very few who had seen _all_ of Adam Dalton, and she certainly didn't take that lightly.

His physicality was something to behold. His broad shoulders and well-toned physique came from the endless physical training of their jobs. She was surrounded by men whose anatomy were one's to be admired and sought after, and yet not many had drawn her attention.

Until Adam that was. Even well before their current situation, there was just something about his blatant and unapologetic masculinity that had her sneaking glances whenever she could. They lived in close quarters and often had to change in front of each other on missions. It had never been inappropriate, but sometimes just a quick visual of Adam Dalton brightened her day.

She literally lay on the bed in her hotel room and giggled at his selfie, surprised that he had firstly even taken one, and secondly that he had actually sent it to her. She briefly thought about sending him one back, but it slipped her mind as the journal on her bed caught her eye.

While her session with Xander was still fresh in her mind, she had opened it up and let all her thoughts and feelings flow on the previously unmarked pages. She had filled so many pages she was amazed her hand wasn't sore.

It was truly amazing how lighter she felt having spoken with Xander and writing in her journal; like a small burden had been lifted. Prior to this bout of leave she had been somewhat of a cynic when it came to therapy or anything similar, but now after reaping some of its benefits, she was certainly turning into an advocate.

Reading back through what she had written, it's as if the words on the pages came to life before her very eyes and she just _knew_ what she wanted to do, or rather what she _needed_ to do.

She knew what would help her; she knew what she could do to further assist her healing.

* * *

"I need to go back to New York." Jaz revealed definitively to Xander the next morning.

Nodding his head at her, hearing the decisive tone in her voice, "Ok. Talk me through this decision."

Jaz had been thinking about this for most of the night so with a deep breath she launched into her reasoning, "Obviously New York holds nothing but bad memories for me. I feel like my life didn't really start until I left. At the beginning of this leave I went back to New York because I didn't really have any other place to go. Elijah was gone and I wasn't comfortable being with his family for the whole time without him being there. There was nowhere else so I went to the only place I had some sort of knowledge about. I had intended to travel, but I didn't even make it ten days in the city before I fled. The nightmares were too much. I'm not saying that it will ever be home, but I'd like to be able to go there without the instant onslaught of memories from my childhood. I want to take back my city." She chuckled then, "I realise that makes me sound like a super hero. I just want to be able to feel comfortable there, and not like I need to run every time."

"That makes a lot of sense, Jaz."

Xander sat there a little longer to see if Jaz offered anything else, but as he just watched the contemplative look on her face he broached gently, "Do you intend to see your family?"

Looking him in the eye, Jaz was completely honest, "I don't know. I don't think so," she took a breath before continuing, "I don't even know if they are still in the same place. I've had no contact since I left, and as far as I know, they've pursued no contact with me. They aren't my family. They're just the people who I'm unfortunate enough to share genetic make-up with."

Once again, Xander just nodded at her words and understood them. The way she felt was completely justifiable. The way she had been treated had been beyond reprehensible and if she felt this was what she needed to do, then Xander would support that fully."

"It sounds like a good idea."

"Yeah?" Jaz asked. While still confident in her own decision, it was still a relief to know that Xander supported her decision.

"Absolutely. I think this will really give you some peace, and help you to continue to heal and grow. I'm not saying it will give you closure, but it might help you to close _some_ doors. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because they no longer lead somewhere. However, I will say _again_ that triggers can happen when you least expect them. When you think all the emotional wounds are healed something can happen that reminds you there is still a scar, whether that be literal or metaphorical. Just keep that in mind."

"I will." Jaz said appreciatively.

"Also, I'm just going to get this all out because it's my job and because I care about your welfare," he smiled warmly at her before continuing, "The past is just a glimpse into your story, it does _not_ define your future. It doesn't define _you_. You have the choice to begin again whenever you are ready. It doesn't mean you forget the past, it means you learn to accept it and move forward gracefully at your own pace. That can be easier said than done, but you're definitely going the right way about trying to achieve that. I said this to you a couple of days ago, but as a reminder, remember it's a process. It's going to take time, but you will make it as long as you don't give up. Any personal growth that comes after abuse is a testimony to the strength of the survivor, and Jaz, in all honestly, you are perhaps the strongest person I have come across."

Jaz felt a flush warm her cheeks and whispered, "Thank you." She would probably never be able to express to Xander how much his words meant to her. She had thought she was just a lost cause, but he had really helped her to see that that wasn't the case.

After another few moments, Xander approached some of the logistics, "So who will you be telling about your trip to New York?"

Jaz smirked, "Don't worry, I'm not going dark. I'll tell Adam and the rest of the team. I'm also going to go and see the Deputy Director after this, to keep her in the loop."

"Good move." Xander agreed. "Remember that I am always a phone call or text away and if you feel like you need more sessions, we can arrange that. Try and keep up with what we have discussed, and just remember that healing is not linear. There will be good times and dark times. You are not magically healed, but you are certainly going the right way about making a difference and if today you are a little better than yesterday, then that's enough."

She stood up and thanked him for all of his time. She didn't have the words to honestly express all her appreciation, but when she reached the door she turned around and said sincerely but with her signature smirk, "You're good people, Xander."

A little taken aback, Xander smiled and returned with, "So are you, Jaz. And if our paths cross in Incirlik again, I _will_ beat you at that game."

Jaz scoffed, "Yeah good luck with that."

* * *

Jaz walked straight around to Patricia's office to let her know her plans and because she had promised to keep her updated.

Patricia was surprised to hear Jaz wanted to go to New York, but understood the reasons why with the little she actually knew about Jaz's background.

"When are you planning to go?"

"I'm going to spend the night here and catch up with Amir again and then I'll try and get an early flight tomorrow morning. I'm going to go and look for a hotel or Air Bnb now."

"Sounds like you've thought this out. I admire this quest of yours, Jaz. Please let me know if I can be of assistance with anything."

"Thank you." Jaz said appreciatively.

Never entirely comfortable in Patricia's presence, particularly at the moment, she didn't linger too long. It was still only early in the morning, so she headed back to the hotel for a swim.

As she swam long and steady strokes, she took the time to process today's session. She knew she had made the right decision to go to New York, and although she had her trepidations, it's what she needed to do.

Other than a cute good morning text from Adam this morning, she hadn't spoken to him yet or told him of her decision. He had been at his sister's until late the night before, and although they had exchanged good night texts, they hadn't actually spoken.

When she was done with her swim, and back in her room, she tried calling him but it rang out. She left a quick message saying she would call again soon, and an hour or so later she got a text from him.

 _ **Sorry I missed your call, been taking care of some errands. Talk soon?**_ – Adam

 _ **Sure. Give me a call when you're**_ _**free**_ – Jaz

So she spent the afternoon securing herself a flight, and browsed the internet for a place to stay for a couple of nights. She ended up booking an Air BnB apartment close to her old neighbourhood. It was two bedrooms and entirely too big for herself, but it was cheap and clean. That sealed the deal.

Once that was all done, she tried calling Adam again, and when she got his voicemail again, she was disappointed but ended up leaving a message telling him of her decision. She had wanted to tell him while he was actually on the receiving end, but it was getting later in the day and she didn't want to wait until this evening to tell him she wouldn't be coming back to the mountains tomorrow.

When she still hadn't heard from him by the time she met Amir in the hotel restaurant for dinner, she wasn't worried as such, but it was playing on her mind. Thankfully Amir kept her entertained discussing their upcoming trip to Montana to see McG. Amir seemed genuinely excited and Jaz knew that although he and McG teased each other endlessly, they really were like brothers.

 _ **Sorry! It's been a day. Call me when you get back to your room. Say hi to Amir**_ – Adam

Thank goodness. With one message, she felt better and couldn't wait to call him and tell him about her plans.

 _ **I've missed you**_ – Jaz

She sent that last quick text before turning back to Amir who already knew that whatever message she had just received had brightened her demeanour. No doubt in the world that Top had sent the message.

Looking at the text he had just received on his own phone, he started to stand up to leave.

Jaz raised her eyebrows, "Been summoned home?"

Amir at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed, "Something like that."

She chuckled at the look on his face and stood as Amir went to pay for their dinner. They hugged goodnight in the lobby with Amir promising to drive her to the airport the next morning, and Jaz made her way back to her room, looking forward to being able to finally talk to Adam.

With her phone open in front of her, ready to hit dial as soon as she stepped in her room, she was startled by the hand she felt on her shoulder as she closed the door to her room. Dropping her phone instantly and grabbing the wrist of her assailant, she leaned over and used her body weight to flip them over so they were flat on their back. In full soldier mode, she rolled them over quickly, drove her knee into the small of their back while she had hold of their wrists tightly in one hand; the other holding their head against the floor.

In that position, despite the adrenaline running through her body and the anger that someone had dared to break into her room, a woodsy, masculine scent began to permeate her senses invoking an almost automatic sense of calm and familiarity to wash over her. Knowing that scent anywhere, she quickly stood up, and leapt for the light switch.

"Adam?" She asked incredulously, not quite believing the sight of the prone figure in front of her as he rolled onto his back, breathing heavily from her quick defence.

"I missed you too, Jaz."

* * *

 **So I figured that Jaz probably needed to go back to New York to face whatever she needs to face there. But at this stage of their relationship, I also figured, that she needs/wants Dalton there with her. Jaz has evolved so much in this story, that I thought to continue to do so, this part of the story needed to be explored.**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter - as always, I would LOVE to know what you thought.**

 **Much love to all of you XXX**


	55. Chapter 55

**HELLOOOOO! Well that was an unexpected and unplanned hiatus. I didn't mean to be away for so long, and just to clarify, I am still continuing this story. I repeat: I _am still continuing this story!_ I'm still way too invested in these characters to let them go.**

 **Just for some context for you, towards the end of last year, I fell pregnant for the first time and it's been a learning curve. A really lovely learning curve - but that first trimester exhaustion was, well... exhausting. I just about had enough energy to get through the work day and that was about it. So not a lot of writing got done, although a lot of day dreaming about these characters did. So I still have much to tell. Then I went overseas for a couple of weeks during our summer break, and I've now been back to work for three weeks, and once again the exhaustion has hit. But I'm feeling better overall.**

 **Anyway, I would STRONGLY recommend that you re-read the last chapter to get you back up to date after my lengthy time away. And for those of you still with me, thank you so, SO MUCH! Hope you enjoy.**

 **I don't own The Brave of any of it's characters... but I wish I did!**

* * *

 **Chapter 55**

 _With her phone open in front of her, ready to hit dial as soon as she stepped in her room, she was startled by the hand she felt on her shoulder as she closed the door to her room. Dropping her phone instantly and grabbing the wrist of her assailant, she leaned over and used her body weight to flip them over so they were flat on their back. In full soldier mode, she rolled them over quickly, drove her knee into the small of their back while she had hold of their wrists tightly in one hand; the other holding their head against the floor._

 _In that position, despite the adrenaline running through her body and the anger that someone had dared to break into her room, a woodsy, masculine scent began to permeate her senses invoking an almost automatic sense of calm and familiarity to wash over her. Knowing that scent anywhere, she quickly stood up, and leapt for the light switch._

" _Adam?" She asked incredulously, not quite believing the sight of the prone figure in front of her as he rolled onto his back, breathing heavily from her quick defence._

" _I missed you too, Jaz."_

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Jaz asked, but couldn't hide her delight as she lowered herself down to the floor, straddling his waist.

"Getting attacked apparently."

The look on Adam's face was one of amusement as he placed his hands on her thighs and sat up so they were chest to chest. Leaning forward to press his lips to hers, he felt her immediately respond, unable to resist his lips.

But before getting too caught up in him, in his warmth and those precious lips, she pulled away, "No seriously, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to escort you to New York."

Looking at him incredulously, the old Jaz would have bitten his head off and told him she was more than capable of going by herself. But the new Jaz was still basking in this relationship, _this partnership,_ and she had missed him too much the last couple of days to argue anyway.

"You're coming with me?" She clarified in a husky voice.

Adam studied her face; the beautiful face he had missed enormously the last couple of days.

"You're not going without me. I told you that the next time you went to New York, there was _no way_ you were going without me."

He knew he had made the right decision when both relief and happiness softened her big brown eyes and he could swear he saw them mist over.

"Besides," he added cheekily with a twinkle in his eye, "wasn't that the moment you realised you were in love with me?"

She laughed at his teasing, but he was dead right. That had been the moment. Her moment of clarity. She would never forget it, and the fact that he hadn't also, meant so much. She reached down and clasped his hands, intertwining their fingers together. She held on tight as a wave of emotion worked its way through her and she waited until she had a better handle on it before continuing.

"Well—well this uh, explains why you weren't contactable much today."

He huffed out a laugh, "Yeah, as soon as Patricia called me, I knew there was no question of joining you. I got your voicemail telling me yourself so then I had a few things to take of before I could get on a flight. And then I just figured I'd surprise you."

"Consider me surprised." Jaz admitted, before back tracking as his words played over in her head again, "Wait—Patricia called you?"

"It sounded like it was right after you spoke to her. She wasn't worried about you; just thought you could use the _support_. Her words."

Jaz was in disbelief, before another thought crossed her mind, "Patton?"

"With Sam and Charlie."

"Cassiopeia?"

As a small smile crossed his face, Jaz came to an understanding, "Emily," they both said in unison.

"I told Sarah and Katie to make sure the kids knew they were only visiting for a little vacation. Hopefully there's no tears when we go and collect them."

"Fingers crossed."

Jaz just sat there in amazement. Just five minutes ago she had been determined to undertake her jaunt to New York and do whatever she needed to do there, but had also been undeniably sad at the prospect of not seeing Adam for a few more days. And now here she was, with Adam in her hotel room, and he was making the journey with her.

He continued to surprise her.

Her mind was still working overtime though.

"If Patricia knows you're here, what about—"

"I've got a room here booked under my name too." He answered simply, pre-empting her concern about _them_ being uncovered. She didn't even need to ask how he got into her room, that was child's play for members of their team.

"And what about in New York? If she knows you're _supporting_ me, she must know we'll be together."

"Apparently you have a two-bedroom apartment booked. That's a room each, right?"

Jaz couldn't help but smirk right back at the smirk all over Dalton's face. _Of course_ someone had managed to find out where she was staying, probably Noah.

"Right," she agreed with him, "a room each."

"I missed you," he smiled softly, the sentiment obvious in his soft blue eyes.

She didn't even answer him. Instead she thought she would let her actions speak for her.

Her lips met his and she pressed herself into him, to be as close as humanly possible. His own lips welcomed and accepted hers instantly and he pressed back into her with just as much want, need and emotion. They were fused together from hips to chest and the immediate heat between them was as always, undeniable.

They kissed each other deeply. Adam's fingertips in her hair and his thumbs on her cheeks. Their kissing gradually became more urgent, more desperate, owning each other. Their lips were hot from the friction they were creating and that heat spread to the rest of their bodies.

Adam's hands lifted Jaz's top over her head before quickly doing the same with his own. His hands quickly made their way to her back, clutching her close and as always, marvelling at the smoothness and softness of her skin.

Their hips rocked against each other, grinding against each other desperately seeking relief from the aching inside of them.

One of Adam's hands snaked its way between them to cup her breast in his large palm, at the same time he tore his lips from hers and let them slip to her throat. She shivered from the combined sensation and moved against him with even more force, her breath starting to sound ragged with desire as she struggled to hold back a moan.

Hearing this only urged Adam on further and he ravaged her throat a little longer, before finding her lips again, their hips still moving in a mutual rhythm.

His skillful hand had removed her bra and still cupped her breast, massaging it and teasing her fully erect nipple as the sensations ran right through her to her core. She pressed herself into his palm, seeking as much from him as she could and the heated look in her eye as he pulled away to look at her had him moving swiftly.

He moved his hands quickly to his jeans and unbuckled himself to release his rock hard cock from its confines. Grasping her butt in one hand, he reached down to slide her panties to the side, too impatient to remove their final pieces of clothing.

With a quick stroke of her dripping folds, she moaned even louder as he lifted her and slid her down on his long, hard length. Both of them let out long, desperate moans like they had been apart for a lot longer than a couple of days.

They sought and found the pleasure they so desperately desired from each other and their coupling was loving, frenzied and quick. Neither of them lasted very long and as they shuddered together a short time later, letting their combined shivers ride themselves out, they pressed their foreheads together and couldn't help but laugh softly.

"I feel like a teenage boy. Barely inside the door, and could barely hold on." Dalton laughed wryly.

"You definitely weren't alone in that." Jaz's breathed in her deep rasp.

"I love you, Jaz. I missed you."

Jaz placed a hand tenderly on his cheek, letting her fingers sift through his beard as she often did, "I love you too. So much."

This felt like coming home. They were each other's home.

* * *

Amir picked them both up from the lobby of the hotel early the next morning. Apparently he had known Adam was flying in too, which explained his hasty exit from dinner last night.

No matter the reason, Jaz had enjoyed seeing him for a couple of days and as they all parted at the airport, they knew they would be seeing him again in Montana soon enough.

She didn't even question that Adam had managed to get on the same flight as her, or that they were seated together. As the plane took off, leaving DC behind them, Adam reached over and clasped her small hand in his much larger hand. As the enormity of what she was doing finally settled over her, she couldn't be more thankful to have him by her side.

She still didn't really know what her intentions were in New York. She hoped she would figure it out when she got there.

"Have you been to New York?" She asked Adam curiously, realising they had never really talked about it.

"I've been through the airport a bunch of times, but only into the city once. It was for a mission. We were in and out in a matter of hours. That's it."

"Well maybe we can see some more of it together." Jaz said softly, knowing there was still so much that even she hadn't seen in the city that never sleeps. She had grown up in the Bronx, but it's not like her family went sightseeing much. Other than the bodega that her Dad ran and school, she didn't leave the apartment all that much.

She'd been a quiet, off-standish student at school. She hadn't made any real friends to speak of, she'd been more of a loner. There hadn't been anyone to notice the frequent bruises or injuries, no one who noticed the bags under her eyes from getting very little sleep each night. Most kids in her neighbourhood had their own shit to deal with, never mind notice anyone else's and looking back, the teachers were just getting through the days by the skin of their teeth.

So she didn't have anyone to visit or anyone she owed her time to. She didn't even know if her parents were still at the same place, if they still had the bodega or if they were even still alive. She _still_ didn't even know if she intended on facing them at all just yet. Her intentions were very unclear. The only thing she had been clear on was that she _needed_ to come to New York.

"Sounds good," Dalton agreed with her, squeezing her hand as he did so.

* * *

After they landed a short time later, they got a cab to the apartment Jaz had found on Air BnB. To her surprise, it was even nicer than it had been advertised, and a lot nicer than she had been expecting in this neighbourhood.

"Good job on the apartment."

"It's better than I thought it would be, and thank goodness for the two bedrooms." Jaz teased.

Walking towards her with a twinkle in his eye, Dalton agreed with her, "Thank goodness, indeed."

She couldn't help but raise her eyebrows as he wound his fingers through her belt loops and pulled her so she was flush against him, kissing her deeply as she gave in to the giggle she had been trying to hold back.

She wound her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer as she kissed him back just as enthusiastically as he was. Losing herself temporarily in his lips, she almost forgot where she was.

 _Almost._

As the realisation washed over her, she pulled her lips away from his, but didn't move her body, she was happy to have him this close. She rested her head on his shoulder and let out a big sigh and felt him move his hands from her hips to wrap completely around her waist. He held her tightly, knowing that the sigh she had just emitted was bound to work its self from her eventually.

"You good?" He whispered in her ear.

"I don't know." She whispered back truthfully and she felt his arms tighten even more.

They stayed like that for a while. Just breathing with each other. Just holding each other.

Eventually Jaz took a step back and walked over to a window facing out to the street. She looked over at him as she pointed towards a shop on the corner.

"That's the bodega my dad owned and where my Mom worked. I spent a lot of time in the back room, making sure I stayed out of trouble," she gestured, her fingers making the air quotes sign.

Moving to stand next to her, Dalton looked to where she was pointing. The bodega looked no different to any other that littered the street corners in this part of the state.

"Two blocks that way," Dalton followed the direction that Jaz was pointing, "is the apartment we lived in."

"I didn't realise we were so close," Dalton mused.

"Yeah I'm not sure if that's a good thing or bad."

"We'll figure it out." Dalton reassured her in that soothing tone of his. And she knew he was right. Whatever the next two days were about, having him there made it seem easier already.

* * *

With no real plan, they ended up spending the afternoon wandering around the neighbourhood. Jaz pointed a few things out to Dalton including the schools she had attended, but she had no emotional attachment to any place she came across.

After dinner at a pizza place, the route she took back to their apartment included walking past the apartment where she had spent the first 17 years of her life. She could see a light on through the windows, but still had no idea if her parents still lived there.

Dalton watched her blank face, not a shred of emotion on it as she just gazed up at the third floor apartment. He just let her do what she needed to do and when she abruptly turned on her heel and walked off, he just stayed by her side until he realised she was stopping outside the bodega. The one her Dad owned.

Her face was once again a blank canvas, and even though he usually had a pretty good read on her, this was an expression he couldn't translate.

"Do you want to go in?" He asked her quietly after they had been standing there silently for a good five minutes.

She didn't answer straight away, but eventually she shook her head, "No. Let's go back to the apartment."

Once again she turned quickly on her heel and walked in the direction of the Air BnB.

When they got in, she turned to him, "I need a hot shower, I won't be long."

Dalton nodded in understanding, "While you do that, I'll go and get us some beer."

A glimmer of a smile crossed Jaz's face as she walked towards the bathroom, "I like your thinking," she called back gratefully.

When Dalton was back at street level, he had a quick look around, but already knew that the bodega they had just quickly about-faced from was the closest store. He could walk to the next block, it wouldn't take long, but curiosity got the better of him.

As he stepped inside, he was met with the same scent he had smelled in similar stores. Mustiness; like some stock had been on the shelves for far too long and every spare corner was piled high with boxes. That being said, the store looked clean. The floor was scuffed, but shiny and the windows looked spotless.

Wandering the aisles, he grabbed a packet of chips randomly before heading to where the beer was stocked. Grabbing a six pack of a beer they drank regularly, he walked towards the counter, still not having seen anyone working there. As he approached though, a woman stood up from where she had been crouching down dusting some shelves and as she turned to greet him, there was no doubt in his mind as to who she was.

If the same big, chocolate brown eyes hadn't been a giveaway, the long dark chestnut coloured hair, albeit with a few greys scattered through it, confirmed it. She had it tied back in a conservative ponytail at the nape of her neck, but it hung halfway down her back.

 _Jaz's Mom._

There was no doubt in his mind.

He looked around quickly, but when he didn't detect anyone else in the store, he wondered where her father might be. He fought the urge to clench his fists; fought the urge to demand his whereabouts.

As Jaz's Mom greeted him and rang up his purchases he couldn't help but notice she wore no wedding ring and the empty, bleak look in her eyes was all too familiar. It was the same look he had seen in Jaz's eyes when Elijah had died and when they rescued her in Tehran. The familiarity of that look pained him, and although he had little sympathy for the woman in front of him, he wondered about it.

Making deliberate eye contact with her as she handed over his purchases, she looked almost surprised to be looked at so intently. He saw her take a step back as if she felt threatened and not wanting to cause any suspicion, he mustered a hint of a smile in thanks and walked out the store. One last quick surveillance, which had included a quick glance at the security camera screens behind the counter, concluded that there was definitely no one else present in the store, not even in the back storeroom.

He could hear the shower still running as he stepped back into the apartment and knew how much Jaz enjoyed a long, hot shower, especially when something was on her mind. It briefly crossed his mind to join her, but decided to give her time to herself and instead sat down to decide if he would tell her that he had just seen her Mom.

* * *

He didn't even need to decide.

Jaz knew.

The realisation had washed over her in the shower. Where else would he have gone when that particular store was right over the road? She didn't blame him at all. She would have done the same.

As she came out of the bathroom with her long hair wrapped up in a towel, she sat down next to him, took a long swig of the beer he held out for her and looked at him knowingly.

"So was he in there?"

He wasn't even surprised she had figured it out, so he didn't bother to act as such.

"There was no man in there. But there was a woman, who I'm ninety-five percent sure is your Mom."

Jaz just stared at him for a moment, not sure what to say, "Did she—did she have a head scarf on?" She stuttered.

"Like a hijab?"

"No, not a hijab, but she always had a loose scarf wrapped around her head in public, mostly to keep my Dad happy. She's not Muslim, but my Dad liked to act like she was."

He shook his head slowly, "There was no scarf whatsoever. But her eyes and her hair, were exactly the same as yours. I knew who she was the moment I saw her. I would have known, even if I had no context behind this whole situation."

Jaz knew he was right. She _did_ look a lot like her Mom. People in the store or staff at the various hospitals visits she had experienced with her mother had always commented so. She didn't love that fact, but she couldn't deny it either.

"But _he_ wasn't there?"

"He wasn't there." Dalton confirmed, fiddling with his beer as he made his next observation, "Did she used to wear a wedding ring?"

"Sometimes, but I'm not sure what dictated whether she did or not."

"Could be the religious stuff, a lot of Muslim's don't wear a ring, but if she hadn't converted—"

"Much to my father's disgust." Jaz interrupted.

"—that would explain that."

"My Mom comes from an Italian background." Jaz revealed quietly, lost in her thoughts. Gabriella Khan, had come from an Italian family, and while she hadn't converted to Islam for her father, he had expected her to abide by many of their customs, like wearing a loose scarf covering her long hair when out in public.

"Well that explains the lasagne." Dalton quipped, recalling the dish Jaz cooked the most on base.

Jaz just looked over at him and smiled, but he saw that it didn't quite reach her eyes. He reached out to grab her hand and pulled her off the chair she was sitting on and onto his lap.

"I hope you're not angry that I went over there."

Jaz placed her hand on his cheek and he watched her eyes soften, "I'm not angry. In fact, it's helped. I didn't know what the hell I was doing here. I was hoping I would figure it out when I got here. I didn't know if I would even see them, or _want_ to see them, but knowing that she's just over the street… well the curiosity is getting the better of me."

"So what do you want to do?" he asked, turning his cheek in her hand to kiss her palm.

After a few moments of silence, a storm of emotions crossing her eyes, she whispered to him, "I think I'm going over there."

He nodded, knowing that would be her decision. They were curious creatures by nature, part of what made them so good at their jobs, and the elitist of the elite.

"Want me to go with you?"

"No, I think I got this."

Dalton just nodded, understanding why she wanted to go alone.

"Besides, I'm sure you'll be watching from the window anyway," Jaz teased.

He shrugged nonchalantly, trying to look innocent, but couldn't help the grin on his face, "Guilty."

Standing from his lap, she took the towel still wrapped around her wet hair and hung it up in the bathroom. Throwing her hair into a quick top knot, she looked at herself in the mirror and took a long deep breath.

She hadn't seen her Mom in about ten years. She didn't know what to expect. Up until five minutes ago, she hadn't even been sure she wanted to see her; to see _either_ of them. But her Mom was probably the easiest to start with, and if Dalton was sure she was the only one in the store, now was the time.

Dalton was standing by the window when she went back out into the lounge room. No doubt, he would stay in that position until Jaz was back, but he walked over to her and placed his hands on her cheeks, framing her face and tilting it towards his. He placed a soft kiss to her forehead before placing a tender kiss on her lips.

No words were exchanged, they didn't need to be, but Dalton held her gaze as she pulled away and walked backwards towards the door. She gave him a small smile before she turned around and disappeared into the night.

Taking up his post once again at the window, he saw her moments later at street level. He watched her cross the road and reach the doorway of the store, hesitating only momentarily before she disappeared inside.

Jaz took one last deep breath before she walked straight into the store. She'd come this far; she may as well get this over with. She approached the counter where she could hear someone rummaging around. Clearing her throat loudly to announce her presence she watched as the female figure stood and turned to focus on her customer.

Jaz watched as her Mom looked right at her, before gasping slightly and grabbing the counter for support. She continued to stare as if to convince herself that it was _really_ was her daughter standing there in front of her.

"Jasmine?" She managed to whisper in a curious, but broken voice.

Showing no emotion or expression in her tone or facial features, Jaz just replied, "It's me."

* * *

 **So some of the little tidbits came from an audition script for Jaz that Dean released on twitter a long time ago, such as her Mum/Mom being Italian. It also mentioned a brother, but I haven't included him in this story. I had the bulk of this chapter written months ago (sorry!) it just took me a couple of days to edit and now post.**

 **I must say a HUGE thank you to those of you who have been re-reading and leaving me messages both on here or on instagram wondering if I'm continuing. Sorry I haven't had a chance to get back to you all, but the answer is definitely YES! I appreciate your interest in this story so much, the guilt at not posting was real!**

 **I should hopefully be back at posting quite regularly and once the little guy arrives in early June, hopefully I'll still post when I can. Like I've said, I love these characters too much to say goodbye to them.**

 **Ok, enough waffling. I'd love to know what you think!**

 **Much love to you all XXX**


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